HAPPY BIRTHDAY...EMILY!

Today is our beautiful daughter-in-law Emily's birthday...so HAPPY BIRTHDAY...EMLS!! WE LOVE YOU!! Just so you all know Emily is the sweetest, most beautiful, super intellegient, very loving and generous daughter in law this family could every ask for. She is so much fun and is one of the sweetest people I know...she and my son are a fun couple and we are so happy they chose one another as husband and wife...We love having you in our family Emls...you bring such joy to all of us! Have a wonderful day...and enjoy your special evening out with the "boy".

These pictures are from Sunday night when sweet hubbin and I took her out to eat and then went back to their apartment so she could open her gifts...yes! we know it was a few days early...but it was the only time hubbin was free to share in the evening...so we had to let her open her gifts early...yea...I know that was mean! I told her if she worked it just right she could probably open a gift every day of the week till her birthday...it would be the birthday week that keeps on giving...instead of just the birthday. I think the picture of her and their dog "Corie" explains how much that dog LOVES presents...we can't wait till Christmas...she was so funny...wanted to be in on all the fun...she's a great dog...and Marcus and Emily make great doggie parents!

Again...HAPPY BIRTHDAY...EMLS!! HAVE AN AWESOME DAY!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!

Lunar Eclipse

WOW!!! Aren't these just awesome...I wish I could take credit for them...but I stole...I mean borrowed them from my daughters blog...she got up EARLY, EARLY, EARLY this morning and shot these...she is too good...in many ways!! Thanks "J" for getting up at the hiney break of dawn and for sharing these phenomenal moments with us...I thought about setting my alarm and getting up to take pictures of this...but that is as far as I got...Hope everyone enjoys them...Again, thanks Ms. "J"...you are the BEST!!

Enjoy!!!

Cutest Surprise Visitor...

Isn't she just a punkin??? Her name is Brooklyn and she came to visit us tonight...her mom is one of my daughters friends from jr. high and high school...Brooklyn's grandparents have been our neighbors for 16 years...they lived in this awesome neighborhood before we moved here...anyhoo...Brooklyn's mom Cindy knows how much I love babies and kids...she brought her oldest daughter Makayla over last year for me to meet...she was pregnant at the time with this little angel...so she is almost a year old...she has been visiting her grandparents this week (she, hubby and the girls moved away to pursue a great job opportunity in another state)...mom and baby left big sis at home w/daddy...so I'm sure Nana & Pop got some great one on one time w/her. I was so thrilled when there was a knock on our door tonight and opened it to find Cindy there...I knew why she had come by...she and punkin had just been out w/the grandparents at a little Sunday School get together, so when she was coming down our street to put B. to bed...she stopped by for a bit...I could have visited all night...but she was tired and we were worried about having her out too late b/c of the mosquitoes and WEST NILE...I just wanted to post how cute she is...her sister is a doll, too...she has very curly hair...and Brooklyn has soft straight hair...and they both have gorgeous blue eyes...AND BOTH ARE VERY,VERY sweet girls...THANKS Cindy...you made our night!!! It was great to see both of you...I miss having girls around!!

In The Dog House

Well this is a first for me....I'm in the "dog house" with one particularly British and ever so sweet Lab...I forgot her birthday on Saturday...August the 18th...I think I may have been too busy the week prior with the wedding and all...and then when Saturday rolled around...I was just too tired to think...So SORRY Maggie...this will have to do...until the weekend when we can celebrate everything right...So wishing my sweet dog ( I know my kids are going to kill me over this...I can see the jaws dropping and eyes rolling as I type!! lol) A VERY HAPPY FOURTH BIRTHDAY....NOW will you please give me some pups???

The first few pictures were taken today...I was pretending it was her birthday...I don't think she has caught on yet...funny because I was looking through all the information the breeder sent us when my husband picked her up in Manchester...she was the last one born in the liter...of 8 she was number 8...I should have known she was going to be stubborn...especially w/boys...she only weighed 11 1/2 oz. when she was born she wasn't the runt...but she was one of the 2 smallest...because their was a male that weighed exactly the same...it's hard to imagine it now that she weighs in at about 53 to 55 pounds...depending on her "water" weight gain...Yes...isn't that how all Ladies weigh... figuring "in" their water weight has to account for some added pounds! She is the most unusual but loving dog I have ever known...she is very loyal to me and my sweet hubbin AND she loves her baby sister "Cookie"...that would be the black and white "crazier than a loon" shitzu...she is very active...she could play catch with a ball, bumper or Frisbee ALL day if you let her...she loves running and finding them wherever they may have bounced or flown...the further and the harder to find...the better...she truly does have a nose for hunting...she is however, a nervous Nellie when new folks or other animals are around...she's a bit too protective...but never really mean...just barks and her hair stands straight on end...we are working on her "social" skills...b/c we do want her to "Play Well With Others"!...Thanks for indulging my in my dog loving craziness...but she is our baby for now...and we really do enjoy her!!

The second and third pictures are of what she loves to do most...running...catching...chasing the ball...again...she could do this for hours on end...I just get too tired to throw ALL the time...but I do spend an average of an hour or better each day (not all at once...15 minutes at a time...on good days)...throwing to her...it keeps her trim, fit and happy!! I aim to please...it's easier than hearing her beg...

Where's My "OFF w/DEET"

How about this for exciting news...my neighbor emailed all of us in our little neighborhood tonight...said he's been feeling bad for almost 5 weeks...well, turns out he was conclusively diagnosed with WEST NILE VIRUS today...yeppers...the CDC has our address now...I suspect...and soon "little" men in suits will be driving round in funny trucks w/fog coming out of the sides of them...OR at least I hope they do...I'll be calling the "health department" AND the "CDC" tomorrow...to check into this...but from now on...we've been advised NOT to go outside w/o a heavy layer of clothing and repellent with DEET...so no more late night talks on the back porch...no more playing catch w/Maggie AND no more late night walks...I guess I'll have to substitute the treadmill....just HOW do you explain to a dog that you can't play catch because of a pesty thing called mosquitoes??

I NEVER thought it would get this bad...it's kind of like when the kids are little and someone tells you that a child in their class has been diagnosed with LICE...and your first reaction is..."Oh NO!! Not my child...my child doesn't have lice!"..."Uh uh!...not my sweet baby!"...sadly though lice are just a nuisance...these mosquitoes could be deadly!!

Asking all prayers warriors to lift my neighbor up in prayer...and to ask for protection for the rest of our neighborhood...Thanks!!

Stick a fork in er' and call it DONE!!!

I was a "bad" girl this past week...I fully intended on taking pictures of the process of making all the florals, bouquets, boutonnieres and corsages...but I forgot my camera on both days that I worked on these...then the day of the wedding was so hectic...I was only able to snap a few really "bad" pictures...so this is what I'll show for now...until I can get some pictures from the photographer...these are pictures of the cake...which ended up being a disaster in my opinion...the bride asked the "cake lady" for a cake that was specifically decorated very plainly...smooth icing (but she didn't want fondant icing AND butter cream is a little harder to smooth out...but really this wasn't done right)and she wanted blue ribbon on the lower edges of each layer...plus she wanted light blue butterflies that were made from gum paste and dyed to match the ribbon...WELL that is what it was suppose to be....I wish I had taken a before picture...but once the cake lady left...I was summoned from downstairs where I was arranging flowers for the ceremony to come upstairs and FIX the cake!!! Yikes...I'm not a cake lady!! Mind you this is the 3rd wedding where I have had to fix a cake...so I'm learning!!! I had to work fast...First...the ribbon was NOT the right color blue...now...I know it's hard to match blues sometimes...but really the bride gave her the ribbon...I don't think the ribbon she used was the same ribbon given to her...b/c it was Tiffany blue...not periwinkle blue...so I found some blue ribbon in my stash...there were 5 layers to the cake...3 round 2 square...well...there wasn't enough of the first blue ribbon to go around all 5 layers...so I found a white sheer w/white stripes to go around the 2 square layers...with the sheer over the previous blue...it was a perfect match to the blue I used on the 3 rounds...yes...God was helping me with that...then there was the issue of the red velvet cake showing through the icing in areas...so I gathered all the white flowers I had...and started placing them around the cake in various spots along with the blue delphinium and the pale, pale blue butterflies...all in all..it wasn't the cake she ordered...and it wasn't a gorgeous cake by any means...not as pretty as I would have liked to have seen...but I think after the flowers were placed and such...it looked as good as it could...the cake lady also brought the cake in on a piece of plywood that she had painted white...the edges looked like horse pookie....mind you I thought she was putting it on something white or silver (like a cake riser) and that it would be presentable...not the case...so I layered the bottom with white rose petals and left over white hydrangeas...I also placed the same white hydrangeas on the top of the cake...NEXT wedding...if there is a NEXT...we're using my tried and truly fabulous cake lady...Pat...no ifs, ands or buts....I know she does great work...she's always professional...and she LISTENS...and is very artistic...you can see her work in one of my previous post...it's the one of my daughter's wedding cake...white...white flowers...brown tablecloth...clear glass at the bottom of the cake lifted with vendula roses all underneath the glass...my opinion...just beautiful!!

Now I know your wondering where and why the pink?? Right??? Well, actually I'm not sure I can answer that really...My friend and I really tried to convince the bride to do all blues and whites/creams....blue happens to be the brides favorite color...so the blue was a perfect choice...but for some reason...and I'm not really clear as to why...pink was added to the color scheme somewhere down the line....now I love pink...think it really is a great color to work with...but it was VERY hard to work with pink and blue and not have it come off as a baby shower looking theme...ya know? All in all...I think the decorations were beautiful...I'll try and post some later...the pinks in the bridesmaids bouquets were stunning...and on the tables, too...the bride carried an all white/cream bouquet along with blue delphiniums and a vintage blue butterfly I found on one of my trips to Colorado in a antique store...it was vintage looking covered in blue stones and enamel....the bride loved it...she had a bit of a butterfly theme going on, too! The bride looked beautiful...and the ceremony was awesome...she is Greek...so they brought some Greek elements into the service...and that REALLY made it special...now they are in the Gulf...Cancun area...somewhere where Hurricane Dean is hovering...so please say a prayer that Viv and Ben get to have a decent honeymoon and make it home safely very soon!

Thanks for reading...Blessings to all...

Wedding Week....

Most of you have seen this picture before...but I'm posting it today...because today starts "Wedding Week" for me! I will most likely be tied up for the majority of the week, working on wedding stuff, arranging wedding stuff, making bouquets, florals, all kinds of WEDDING stuff...so I'm going to stop by from time to time to check in...but probably won't be posting a lot...coincidentally these are almost the same color the bride is using...a few darker shades of pink here and there...even some of the flower choices are the same... you are limited this time of year as to what is available...if we had to order in from Holland it would cost the bride an arm & leg...and we're trying to stay within her budget! Wish us luck...and please pray for the couple to be wed this weekend...Friday...actually...I'll clue you in on some of the facts latter....hopefully, with many pictures...but I am going to be busy...so I don't know how many pics I'll be able to take...

Blessings to Everyone...