Merry Christmas!

Silent Night Lullaby

Sleep little Baby, sweet little Baby,

The sky is alight with one star shinging brightly.

The air's filled with music, a song on the breeze.

All nature in harmony echoes the peace,

And the angels of heaven are singing Thy praise...

So, slumber, my sweet Little Baby.

 (oops!!)

~ The composer is actually Darren Major

A version of this sheet music can be found at 
https://www.quarternote.club/christmas

It does not, however, have the two part descant that the 
original version he wrote had on it. 

I am so sorry I had the wrong composer on there until today! 
October 20, 2019!!

"And there were in the same country shepherds, 

abiding in their fields and watching over their flocks by night.

And Lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them,

and the Glory of the Lord shown 'round about them,

and the angel said unto them,

"FEAR NOT! for behold I bring you good tidings

of great joy which shall be to all people!

For unto YOU is born this day, in the City of David,

a Savior, which is Christ the Lord..."

"And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of

heavenly hosts praising God and saying,

"GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST! 

and on earth peace....good will toward men"

Family Traditions hold us and carry us, remind us and renew us. My birth family tradition that has become my own family's Christmas Tradition is Christmas Caroling on Christmas Eve. I have done it as long as I can remember and my family cannot do without it....it is as much a part of us as breathing....

We love to sing and harmonize the songs celebrating the birth of the Savior and once again tonight we enjoyed it, even though there were few of us. I love my sister, and her family who we go with each year that we are together. And our harmonies are much more beautiful with all of us together. 

The verse at the top is sung simultaneously with "Silent Night" and it is a beautiful arrangement that we sing every Christmas. Tonight I was priveledged to recite this section of scripture, the full extent of it, while my family and extended family hummed in 3 part harmony the second verse to Silent Night. My father always recited it when I was growing up, but if I could learn it "by heart", he said he would let me recite it while caroling. So, I worked hard to please my father and he allowed me to recite it. I have been able to recite it ever since. After my father passed away in 1993, my family let me be the one to recite it while Christmas Caroling. In turn, my son memorized it and has been able to recite it, at about the age of 8 he started doing that. This year, at the age of 20, he is on a mission to tell the people of Brazil about Jesus Christ and the difference His life and atonement can make in their lives. He has had the opportunity to recite these scriptures during the second verse of Silent Night in Portuguese. He loves music and sharing his testominy of the Savior. 

I am so grateful for my Father, for my Son, for my Heavenly Father and for His Son, Jesus Christ. I am grateful to be blessed with a love of music, and a desire to praise the Lord of heaven and earth with song!

Happy Christmas to you and yours! May the songs of Christmas tug and tighten your heartstrings around you and your loved ones, blood family or adopted family. And may we tie ourselves to God and our Savior, Jesus Christ, who loved us first!

Christmas Hearts to You,

Betsy

Dutch Inspired Christmas Tags as Ornaments

I had so much fun making my Grandgirls' Christmas Ornament Tags, I decided to make some for my sis~in~law. She loves vintage things, she quilts, she cooks, she decorates and she loves old silver. And it was her birthday! I found in my vintage images two pictures that were a Dutch theme.

This vintage windmill charm is so sweet and isn't that salt spoon amazing? It is so tiny! I am not sure which things I will finally use...we will see!

Her husband, my husband's brother, went to The Netherlands on a mission for our church 35 years ago, and as a family, they have continued some Dutch Christmas traditions. They put out their wooden shoes as well as stockings on Christmas Eve, they have a really wonderful Nutcracker Collection. They have purchased one or two each year. Their home is beautiful and she is an amazing decorator. Her Christmas Decor is fabulous....it is a gorgeous Christmas home at Christmas time.

I got so excited, you know how fun it is when you find something you are pretty sure someone will love....I got all my stash out..well, only part of it...it is too much to get all of it out at once!
I chose some vintage laces, vintage glass buttons, heart charms, and glitter, and I began working on two Christmas Ornaments for her birthday.

I love the look of the snowy glitter on the images. I found some vintage silver items in Germany when I was there this summer, and I wanted to incorporate some of them into the tag/ornament.

This snowy windmill scene is on the back of the tag with the girl carrying the mistletoe. The spoon will be attached to the tag back with a lace tie, so she can remove it for a different use if she would like. The  windmill charm will be attached to the back of the tag with the couples skating and carrying mistletoe. I love these images.....

See..........my tags end up being very busy....I don't know if I even am able to make something simple.... LOL, I'll have to work at being simple.....work....at simple?....THAT sounds like an oxymoron to me.....*rolling eyes at myself*....

This is the finished product.....the windmill charm attached to the back of the couple tag/ornament....
I have had such fun making these...I learned lots about what worked and didn't work, it was fun to try different products and learn how to use them. I might have to make myself a set of these tags, with different silver pieces.

                         

I finally decided on a spoon with dutch wooden shoes on the handle, it is very sweet.

But the tags are so busy....
It seems that everything I do is busy...  ;P.... what to do about that, I am not sure....Any suggestions?  

My heart just loves elegance...don't know why, I am NOT an elegant person....but that is what warms and tugs at my Heartstrings. Guess I'll have to live with it !
I don't think my sis~in~law can have as much fun with these as I had making them...but I am good with that, too!
Hugs to your Heart!
Betsy

Funny, Funny Mother!

The very first time I read this poem years ago.....I laughed so hard I was crying real tears before I got anywhere near the end of it....
You may have read or heard it before, but it is always a great reminder of what to AVOID this time of year!

FUNNY, FUNNY MOTHER!
See Mother. See Mother laugh. Mother is happy.
Mother is happy about Christmas.
Mother has many plans. Mother has many plans for Christmas.
Mother is organized. Mother smiles all the time.
Funny, funny Mother.
See Mother. See Mother smile. Mother is happy.
The shopping is all done. See the children watch TV.
Watch, children watch.
See the children change their minds.
See them ask for different toys.
Look, look, Mother is not smiling.
Funny, funny Mother.

See Mother. See Mother sew.
Mother will make dresses.
Mother will make robes.
Mother will make shirts.
See Mother put the zipper in wrong.
See Mother sew the dress on the wrong side.
See Mother cut the skirt too short.
See Mother put the material away until January.
Look. Look. See Mother take a tranquilizer.
Funny, funny Mother.

See Mother. See Mother buy raisins and nuts.
See Mother buy candied pineapple and powdered sugar.
See Mother buy flour, and dates, and pecans, and brown sugar, and bananas, and spices, and vanilla.
Look. Look. Mother is mixing everything together.
See the children press out cookies.
See the flour on their elbows.
See the cookies burn. See the cake fall.
See the children pull taffy. See mother pull her hair.
See mother clean the kitchen with the garden hose.
Funny, funny Mother.

See Mother. See Mother wrap presents. See Mother look for the end on the scotch tape roll. See Mother bite her finger nails. See Mother go.
See Mother go to the store 12 times in one hour.
Go Mother go. See Mother go faster. Run Mother run.
See Mother trim the tree.
See Mother have a party.
See Mother make popcorn.
See Mother wash the walls.
See Mother scrub the rug.
See Mother tear up the organized plan.
See Mother forget gift for Uncle Harold.
See Mother get hives.
Go Mother go. See the far away look in Mother's eyes.
Mother has become disorganized. Mother has become disoriented.
Funny, funny Mother.

It is finally Christmas morning. See the happy family.
See Father smile. Father is happy.
Smile Father smile.
Father loves fruit cake.
Father loves Christmas pudding.
Father loves all the new neckties.
Look, look. See the happy children. See the children's toys.
Santa was very good to the children.
The children will remember this Christmas.

See Mother. Mother is slumped in a chair.
Mother is crying uncontrollably.
Mother does not look well.
Mother has ugly dark circles under her blood shot eyes.
Everyone helps mother to her bed.
See Mother sleep quietly under heavy sedation.
See Mother smile.
Funny, funny Mother.

 My children usually quote this at some point every year....
But usually it is their own version of a line or two.....
I usually hear...."Go Mother, Go! Faster, Mother, FASTER!" and we all laugh and I sit down and reevaluate what I am doing and what truly is most important to get done.
I much prefer the uncontrollable crying while reading this to the uncontrollable "crying slumped in a chair..."

Happy Christmas to you, Happy Last Few Days Before Christmas" to you, and especially Happy Christmas Memories of Christmas 2012 to reflect on later...So, take a little time in getting things done. Many of the things on our lists are only held there by our imaginations.....
Happy Christmas is the goal....

Happy Hearts to you,
Betsy

Memories of Christmases Past

 I have been thinking about Christmases past. . .

A gorgeous snowy night walking downtown in a large city with

my arm around the love of my life.... It was romantic...

 Visiting a Castle and looking over the surrounding landscape...

I was in awe....

 The details in the decor at EVERY Christmas Market

were so amazing to me...

 Walking on snowy roads from market to market in the moonlight,

holding hands with my Hubby,

watching most of our children walking ahead of us

having a fabulous time in the freezing cold December weather

and loving every minute of it, yet missing the family

members unable to be there with us.

(For some reason, my camera decided to flip out and the above picture is what I got...

I thought is was pretty neat for an accidental picture. After that night, it wouldn't work correctly, but I love this picture and distinctly remember  where I was standing and how magical it all felt to me.)

I just kept pinching myself....I couldn't believe I was there.

From the day we landed in Frankfurt until the day we left,

we enjoyed the feeling of a Christmas 

in Germany with loved ones. 

These pictures are of ONE of the wonderful Christmas Seasons of my life....

There have been 52, all different and all full of wonder,

if not wonderful.....and full of Gratitude for family,

for music rejoicing in the Celebration of the Savior's Birth,

for Love, for gifts seen and unseen,

for another year of growth and learning 

and for the blessing of The Savior of the World in my life.

This Nativity was placed near the Visitors Center by the

Frankfurt, Germany Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

The grounds were snowy and beautifully lighted, 

and focused on Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Christmas begins with Christ

May may we invite Him into our lives every day of every year.

My heart is full from many wonderful memories of

Christmases Past...

and so full of Hope for Future Christmases because of whose birth

We Celebrate!

Hugs from My Heart to your Heart,

Betsy

With a Heavy Heart....

Today has been a heart wrenching day,
Full of shock, disbelief, sadness and tears for so many. I have prayed for strength and comfort for those in Connecticut, and everywhere, who are in need of so much at this time. I pray that the Healing love of the Savior reaches each one of our hearts, so we all might have increased ability to reach out our own hands, offering care and support for those who are hurting or in need of assistance of any kind in our own communities as well as in Connecticut specifically.
I pray for the Perfect Love of Christ to fill our hearts so that fear is cast out and we can be His hands and minister to His children now in need....
We are all hurting together,
Love will see us through,

Love and heart hugs to you all,
Betsy

The Transformation of a Christmas Wreath

Do you have any Christmas decor that did not turn out the way you had envisioned?   I do.....
I made two wreaths some years ago. One I gave as a gift and that was the one I liked the most....

The other wreath.....not so much.

It just wasn't doin' it for me, you know? I tried to sell it an a Christmas Boutique...but no sale...
Two years later, two weeks ago... I decided I was going to redo this so it might sell.  It was pretty, but something was just not right....

So this is what it looked like next......I moved some of the pine cone bows and pears to the right bottom corner. . .  Better.... but I wasn't done yet...and those white jingle bells on the left needed to be rearranged...or some removed...and something else needed to be added.......

I added more icy vines around the poinsetta and pears....that is much better. I liked it hanging in my bathroom like it is now....but I want to be able to sell it.....and how many people have lavendar, blue and sage green, with purple~ish raspberries for Christmas decor? .....hmmmmm........*LIGHT BULB MOMENT*...IT NEEDS TO BE RED!

I CAN DO RED!!!! So...down to the work room....(okay, it is really a play room, but I can't call it THAT!!! I am trying to come up with a more.....prestigious name for it.....Oh! Maybe the DESIGN Room! That is MUCH better!) So down to the DESIGN STUDIO we go...me and my wreath. I used my red spray paint and look what happened....And I even had more icy RED grapes....I like how that looks!

I had to wrap the wreath in plastic wrap and pull the berries through to keep the rest of it from being sprayed. I sprayed each individual poinsettia petal, trying to keep the different tones showing through. It looks kinda "funky" only partly finished....soooo...

TA DA!!!!! I am REALLY loving THIS wreath! The purple~ish berries were pretty with the red spray, but the round previously made RED grapes added another shape and texture and I just liked them.  For the picture I added one of the vintage cookie cutter ornaments I made and it looked so sweet  in the wreath! I thought two of them might go in nicely, but then I would have to charge too much for the wreath. And I was hoping it would sell, even if I do like it better now!

When I post about the Christmas Boutique I will show you the close~ups I took of the cookie cutter ornaments I am selling. But if this wreath doesn't sell now..... I will be happy to keep it!

Christmas is my favorite time of year, maybe because my birthday is this month. But I just love the red and green and pine scented everything and the candles and the lights and the music and the caroling and the giving.....I love to give happiness ...

This wreath gives my Heartstrings a bit more Happiness!

Hugs to your Heart, Hope your Heart is Happy Today!
Betsy

Christmas Tag Ornaments

It is December!
......it has been for a few days! I have had such a busy two weeks I haven't made time to post anything on the blog! But I have been taking pictures of what I have been up to......

I have been trying to learn how to make tags....and I decided that I would make one for our oldest Grandgirl for her Christmas ornament this year. I wanted to give her a play baking set for Christmas and the tag/ornament could be a reminder of the gift!




She loves to help her Mom, Daughter*1, make cookies for herself and for her Daddy. She sits on the counter or a stool and helps. She has her own apron that she wears, but that doesn't mean Mimi can't give her another one for Christmas!! "Mimi" is my Grandma name.

This was really fun for me.  I think I make tags very full, and somewhat busy...just like me! I can see how less can be more, but for this ornament, I really like it busy. I used some fun mini ornaments I purchased quite a few years ago for the cookies. I painted and antiqued them so they looked more the color of real cookies.
I thought the baker's twine was a fun addition for the cookies to be "hanging" from. I also threaded it through the lace on the bottom of the tag. It doesn't show up very much, but I thought it was just the right touch.
Then I made the tag string out of mulitple pieces of pearl cotton so it also has the appearance of baker's twine.

I had so much fun making this, I just had to make one for myself!

There are a few differences in hers and mine, but I did that on purpose. I will make the back of mine just like the back I put on hers. Her name, the Year and a "We Love YOU! From Papa and Mimi" on the back. This way when she comes to our house at Christmas, there will be an ornament on our tree similar to the one on her tree at home, but different.  I am also  making one for her baby sister. I decided that for a few years, at least, these will be the ornaments the Grandgirls get from us for Christmas. And they will be similar to their actual gift. Later in their lives, they may no longer have the gifts, but they will have a gift memory on their ornaments.

There are only three differences between her ornament and ours......Can you find the differences?

These ornaments will always tug at my heartstrings, because they remind me of my Grandgirls and the gifts we gave them and the things they love to do at each Christmas.

Hearts,
Betsy

PERFORMANCE!

My baby girl, 16 year old Daughter*4, played the part of Gabriella Montez in "High School Musical" for their.......High School Musical! The performances were before Thanksgiving, and I was involved with that and haven't been on the blog since!





My daughter is on the right of the picture. Her best girlfriend was asked to play the part of a female basketball player because they needed more "singers" on the "team". She did a great job with the guys. They do lots of things together. They sing and laugh and play volleyball and do what teenager girls do. They love each other like sisters...which is nice for my youngest to have a "sister" that lives near her... And I have fun with them. She calls me Mom E. since that is who I am!

I was privileged to be the Stage Mom.  I helped with things from decorations, to applying make up. It was a great time for everyone. Some of these kids I have known for most of their lives, but I was able to get to know more of her friends better. It was a blast! She has lots of good influence friends, the kind a Mom likes! It was a great group of kids with a variety of backgrounds, some of them probably would not have gotten to know each other if they had not been in the musical, but they were all happy they were in it together, just like the musical talks about. They will be friends for life now.

My heartstrings were bursting with Joy as I watched my "baby" girl sing on stage and play a part very well. She is talented, fun, intelligent, beautiful and most importantly kind. I am glad she is my daughter and friend. I was so happy to be able to be a support to her and her cast members and the teachers who directed the kids in the play.  They all did a fantastic job!

 I helped the Drama Teacher by adding florals and greenery to the stage. She brought a few from home and I brought the rest. My hubby always teases me saying, "They can use it, but they can't bring it back!"

GO WILDCATS!!!

Hearts to you,
Betsy

Blissful Whites Wednesday

I love Blissful White just about anything! So, when I noticed this particular recurring event, I was so excited to participate! When it was postponed, I was so sad, I hadn't set up my blog yet! Then, the wonderful artist, Becky of TIMEWASHED, picked up the event, I was excited again!

It is late in the day, but I wanted to share some things...
These are some gorgeous white monogram inserts?, I found this summer at a flohmarkt in Frankfurt, Germany! I had seen so many laces from Liz in Lalaland, I just wanted to see and buy some European laces...I was so excited! I cannot wait to find the perfect item to make with them..
These are a few different pieces that I purchased here and there at the flohmarkt from different vendors. They are so pretty and delicate. I do not speak German but Daughter*1, who lives there does,...she taught me the basics and let me loose at the flohmarkt.....I think I am over confident in Germany...

This is probably one of the most exciting things I found at the flohmarkt. This sweet little white celluloid religious book...*sigh....* is a German Prayer book! I was looking for something like this for Daughter *2's gift from Germany, she has taken German in college and had a fetish for small books when she was little. The picture is not as clear as I would like, but I will do better. The pearls were also purchased from a vendor at the market.








Look how exquisite the images in the book are...
                                                                                                                 

This book was published in 1897 and has a lovely clasp on the side that keeps the book closed. There is even a four-leaf clover pressed in between pages of this book, so sweet and enchanting... it made me wonder who originally owned this book...was it a child learning prayers for daily life? and did they cherish the book as much as the four-leaf clover...
 my imagination was stirred....

The laces, fabric, twill tape and the "B" eyelet monogram I also bought at the flohmarkt. I took these pictures a month or more ago with my new phone, the day I received this beautiful collage from Liz, along with a few baking tins I had purchased from her. The doily on the lower left came with a different package of items I purchased from Liz. It is so beautiful, I have PLANS for it as well. You SEE why I have become addicted!
I was so excited when I saw the "B" monogram, it was the only capital letter there and it stands for Betsy, I am SURE! I have a lovely item in mind for that piece as well.



There was one other absolutely exquisite item I had to leave behind in Germany...it was so hard to not bundle it up and steal away on the airplane with me....

This is my sweet Grandgirl*2, who was one of the main reasons for my trip, (Daughter*1 and her family live there) she was born literally less than 12 hours after I arrived in Germany. I made the ribbon bow for her picture but she is a beauty and didn't really need a bow.
The picture below is one with a blissful white headband on her that my MomInLaw, baby girl's Great Grandmother, made for her. It matches a gorgeous crocheted dress baby girl was blessed in...
I love all the beauties I found in Germany, the amazing country side, the gorgeous weather, even the lightning storms! The humidity, the hand laid bricks for the sidewalks, the laces, the fantastic food, the castles, the chocolate, so many things...
But this little bundle, her older sister and their parents are what tie my heartstrings tight to Germany... I cannot wait until I get to go back! I cried and cried at the airport when I had to say goodbye, but not until after I was walking away from them...
Hope you White Wednesday was a blissful as Mine!















Tugs at my heart,
Betsy

Yesterday was not what I anticipated....

I had plans with my dear friend, Marcella, to make apple sauce.  ..well..?  We found the cooler we keep the apples in had gotten too cold and froze the apples.... not good for sauce... this hasn't happened before...  So... Marcella worked on some ornaments while I messed around with graphics on the computer. She has been making some ornaments that she found a picture of on Pinterest and they turned out so pretty! 



 




We have such a good time together making things, we laugh and make each other work and share ideas with each other, it is just a great time when we do this. She is my sister from another Mother and I am so grateful for her friendship and love. Marcella helps me keep  things in perspective, my perfectionism gets in the way of production and she just loves things as she goes. I hope I get some of that rubbed off onto me! I seem to have more fun helping her than doing my own things. Maybe tomorrow I will do my own things! I do have some pictures of what she inspired me to make last Christmas. I was inspired to use Christmas cookie cutters for my ornaments.












These cookie cutters were some of my favorite when I was little. It is hard to see in this picture that it is a three dimensional picture. There is a layer of just Santa's arm and face on top of the same picture. There is a little glitter here and there to highlight  berries.

A Child wishing on a 
Christmas Star, or maybe under the mistletoe? 
There are extra cutouts of mistletoe leaves and words added to some of them.

This cookie cutter ornament is two sided, but I did not take any pictures of the other side, I don't know why... but I plan to make some more of this type this month for Christmas. I hope to take better pictures. I have a better idea what I am doing. These are the ornaments that did not sell at the bazaar. I hope to remake the ornaments that did sell and I will share them with you! They were so fun to make, and I was happy with how they turned out. I hope to make them better this year!

Christmas is the season that my heart anticipates most of all...I love giving love!
Happy ornament making!
Betsy

Saturday!

This Fall Saturday morning I have a Sunday School song going through my head while I am cleaning my house.
 "Saturday is a special day, it's the day we get ready for Sunday,
We clean the house and we shop at the store, so we don't have to work until Monday!
We brush our clothes and we shine our shoes and we call it our get the work done day,
Then we trim our nails and we shampoo our hair, So we can be ready for Sunday!"

Sometimes I wonder if this generation of children even knows what some of those things are.....
"Brush your....clothes..? Do we really have to shine our shoes......with wax....? Trim our nails...."  My children are pretty much grown, so they know what all those things are!

I received a text from a dear friend, and she sent me this picture....

This is her display in her dining room of her Harvest Decor and
the Non - Alcoholic Sparkling Cider we make on our farm from the apples we grow. Her son and his Homecoming date were in the group of kids that my daughter and her date went with. Since we live far enough away from a nice restaurant,
about 45 minutes in the opposite direction as the high school where the dance is held, Mothers of the kids get together to make and serve them a nice dinner.  If it is a boy ask girl dance, the boys' Moms make it. If it is a girl ask boy dance, the girls' Moms make it. But the kids in our
area are pretty familiar with our sparkling cider and they pretty much love it. So I sent these bottles my friend's home to make sure they had some to serve at the dinner as well as have some for their family.

 The bottle I sent for the dinner was our "Vintage Dry" sparkling cider. This second picture was taken by my dear niece, Jana Claus, of the other three varieties, "Classic Sweet", "Cherry" and "Harvest Crush". They are all an apple base, just different varieties of apples and some of fruit juice additions. The Classic Sweet is a variety of sweet apples combined for a unique fresh apple flavor. The Harvest Crush is apple with some grape juice added, and if I have to choose, I'd say this one was my favorite. But I like them all! The Vintage Dry is made from more tart varieties of apples and has a high level of tannins, which means you can feel it bubble on the roof of your mouth and, in an British accent, "it cleanses the palette".....and is good with a meal....or without! The Cherry has tart cherry juice added to it, and it tastes a bit like Cherry Pie at the end of your swallow. The Cherry is wonderful with Turkey and my hubby loves to make Cherry Cider floats with it and vanilla ice cream.....it is delicious! We have fun sharing it and getting the word out there about it to people. Locally we sell it at gift stores and some Grocery Stores. The Fruit Company in Hood River, Oregon uses our ciders in some of their gift baskets. Their gift baskets are available through Costco Stores and online. A Seattle Grocery Chain is also carrying it, the Metropolitan Market. We had such a great time doing tastings last November there and will be doing them again in a few weeks. It is so much fun to let people taste it.  It tastes like an apple in a bottle.  There is only fruit juices and carbonation, with sulphites as a preservative with no added sugar and it is Non-Alcoholic! It is great for reducing and using in sauces for meat and salad dressings. Tai Pan Trading in Sandy, UT also carries it in the Gourmet Foods section near the checkouts. You can look at our Sheffield Cider website and check it out if you like! We have FREE shipping if you purchase a case of cider, through the Holidays. If you order some, let them know you heard about it from me!

 I had a few bottles on my Halloween Table to offer to parents who drove their kids TOTing and both groups of kids tried to get their parents to believe that I gave the bottle to THEM! LOL One even said that he won it for having the best cosume of the two of them.....that would be The Grimm Brothers on my Halloween Blog.  I had to laugh and I appreciate his creativity.
You'll see lots of Sheffield Cider pictures on my blog!

Have a Wonderful Saturday!

Oh! One more picture.......

Liz from Lululizinlalaland posted these pictures of their Alfresco Lunch at their cottage in the Countryside of France, enjoying our cider. I am SO glad you liked it, Liz! She has been such a sweet friend to me, I love her brocante finds and vintage items she sells in her Etsy shop, LaCroixRosion and I enjoy some of them in my own home now! Because of her influence, I was so excited to go to the flohmarkt (Flea Market) in Germany when we were there this summer. I found gorgeous laces and all kinds of vintage beauties, silver and books and lace, Lace, LACE! I had to send her some cider out of gratitude! I love her style and she is SUCH fun! She was sweet enough to put pictures on her 

blog about our Sparkling Cider!

Oh, Two more pictures!

Don't they have an absolutely gorgeous view?
And that Tomato and Fresh Mozerella Cheese salad that is at Liz's place is one of my Favorite meals!
YUM!

Beautiful Sunday....

I enjoyed a worshipful Sunday today. We Skyped with our Daughter*1, her hubby and our 2 Grandgirls, so much fun! We attended church as a family and Daughter*2 and her hubby spent yesterday and today with us.  It is so nice to have them living near for a wonderful change.
Her hubby made us yummy dinner.....last night....AND today.  He is a wonderful cook and I really appreciate him being so kind and willing.  He made a wonderful Gluten Free Cherry/Berry Pie last night....just with a recipe in his head....and it was so wonderfully delicious!
My M-I-Law had dinner with us and helped me mend a knitted dolly sweater from a dolly I bought at a flea market in Germany this summer.....I was hoping she would know how to fix it. Between the two of us, it is fixed!
I am so grateful to my Savior, Jesus Christ, for His Love and willingness to atone for our sins. I am grateful to our Heavenly Father, who provided a way for us to return to Him, by His Grace and Mercy, made available to us by that atonement of His Son. I am grateful for the gift of the Holy Spirit, that leads me and guides me and makes it possible for me to feel that connection to my Heavenly Father.
I will talk about my beliefs on this blog, because it is a large part of my life.  But, I share what I believe because it is a part of my everyday life, I know my talents come from Him. And I don't expect others to believe how I do, I just like to share my thoughts....This picture hangs in our entry way to remind us

I Feel My Savior's Love, The Love He Freely Gives Me

Hope your Sunday was a Sabbath!