* 
Christmas weaves a magic wand over this world,

and behold,

everything is softer and more beautiful.

* 
Norman Vincent Peale

 pinterest

 Wishing you a

a heart overflowing with gratitude

and a Thanksgiving Day filled with love.

Blessings!

happy birthday, princess olivia!

Last Saturday we celebrated Olivia's 3rd birthday  

with a Woodland Fairy Princess party.

The menu included:

Tomato/Mozzarella "Toadstool" Appetizers

Chips and Dip

"Butterfly" Sandwiches

Mimi's Potato Salad

GG's Peanut Butter Squares

Auntie Crystal's Fruit Wands

Mama's Rice Krispie Wands

"Fairy Berry Juice"

Gramma's Funfetti Fairy Cake 

and Fairy Cupcakes (Liv helped decorate!)

& Neopolitan Ice Cream

oh, and Pixie Stix. :)

Aunt Mary Jane brought pink sugar cookies with sprinkles too.

The party was lots of fun and Olivia received many wonderful gifts from
her royal family and friends.  They, of course, were fit for a queen princess! 
Every time I see her she's wearing a different ensemble.
I think she had three costume changes at the party! :)
And everyone, I mean everyone, enjoyed the fairy wings! teehee!

Happy Birthday, sweet girl! 

You will always be a princess to "Biddy" and me.

Happy Veteran's Day

                                                          

                                  Dad~ holding Crystal~a few years ago...

 Dad was in the Navy during the Korean Conflict.  

My brother, Brian, joined the Marines the summer he graduated from high school

 

 To all our veterans...

Thank you.

three weddings, two baby showers, and a field trip, oh my!

We were without power for 5 days last week after an October snow storm.
So it's time for an update...

Lydia & Zach * 9/10/11

  Allison & Ben * 9/30/11

Kaitlyn & Paul * 10/08/11

Jackie's Baby Girl (Aleena) Shower (10/9) w/ Liv & Dayton "helping"

  Mary Beth's Baby Boy (Noah) Shower (10/22)

Dayton & Liv & several others "helped" at this shower too!

 

  Field Trip to Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut

Grades K to 4

11/04/11

Looks like God painted the Clownfish by hand.

 Octopus up close and personal!

I'm always awestruck by the imagination and creativity of God when I see all the creatures He's made!

 

Beluga Whale~amazing!

Next week, Olivia's Fairy Princess Birthday Party!

Stay tuned!

My PROJECT

The Nutrition Curriculum Project 

I'm working on for the class I took this summer 

must be postmarked by October 28th.  

It's my "due date!."

I have been thinking about little else for the past few weeks!

It has been an interesting journey and I've learned SO MUCH!

 But I'm anxious for the weight of  it to be lifted.  

I just can't wait for "this baby" to be done and delivered!

oh, dear, oh deer!

Have you ever 

wished

you had'nt left 

your telephoto lens 

at home?

happy birthday, dayton!

The first part of September is a very busy time of the year for me. 

The new school year begins.  

( I teach first grade.)  

Sunday School begins,

(I'm the Sunday School Superintendent.)

And my grandson, Dayton celebrates his birthday!

This year he turned 4 on September 3rd !

 The theme of this year's party was

I helped his mom by carving a
watermelon shark...

                                                  and making "sushi" appetizers...(not that tasty, but cute!)

 Sponge Bob and Nemo 

( Dayton's two Grandpas)

made an appearance!

 

And the birthday boy gave it all he had to blow out his candles! ;) 

{Next year somebody remind me that buttercream frosting

melts on the way to the party 

when it's early September and the temperature is 80 degrees !!}

Happy Birthday, sweet boy!

I love you all to pieces!

smooch, smooch!

:)

fairie tale

My granddaughter, Olivia, believes she is a princess...(and indeed, so do I!)

She adores wearing princess dresses and princess shoes

and, of course, a crown!

 * 

So, while enjoying some time by the campfire awhile back,

 

I made this fairy princess crown.

 

Now she keeps asking for wings! :)

 *

  So her mom and I are planning a fairy princess birthday party in November.

Olivia doesn't know I already picked up several pairs of wings at the dollar store the other day.

("Gotta get 'em while the gettin's good," my Mom would say! )

Olivia's mom knows I love to plan a party with a fun theme; so she indulges me.

Oh, it's going to be so much fun!

*

Do you have a childhood birthday party that you remember as your favorite?

Batten down the hatches...

This is the calm before the storm.

We're getting HEAVY RAIN and the winds are beginning to pick up.   

The power has flickered a couple of times which is a bit unnerving, 

but my kids are all safe at home, I've got LOTS of candles, 

we're dry and safe, so, right now it's a bit exciting!

Hopefully there will be minimal damage here in New England

and it will be a quiet (except for the thunder!) day at home.

*

Have I not commanded you? 

Be strong and courageous. 

Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, 

for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

                                                                      

Joshua 1:9

I just found out my middle daughter does have to work today.

I covet your prayers for Bethanie's safety.  

*

We've been flocked!

 We woke up this morning to fifty flamingos in our front yard!

*

To raise $$$ for sports programs 

the local booster club 

will "flock" any house in town

for a cash donation. 

 *

{Thanks Crystal and Kenny!} :)

 *

When the woman came to 

pick up the flock she said, 

"This is probably the only house in town 

where the flamingos actually look good!"  

*

pink door

pink flamingos 

*

 That is a compliment, right?  

*

 Did you notice the ducks checking out the flock?

*

Now it's our turn to do the "flocking!"

happy birthday!

My daughter, Jade,

 

and her friend Holly,

celebrated their birthdays together 

with a very fancy black and white birthday party.

 I made the cake

 and babysat the grandkids.

Looking forward to seeing pictures 

of their lavish affair!

*

Happy 23rd, Jade 

Love you.

*

Summer’s popsicle

 And a pool to eat it by.

 

What more do you need?

                    ~ Neal Ross Attison

Josh Groban Concert

Last week a friend gave me 2 tickets to the Josh Groban Concert.  

Thanks Aaron! :) 

So Andy and I drove to Lowell to take the T to TD Garden in Boston.

It was a wonderful concert.  

Josh Groban has a phenomenal voice 

and I loved his interaction with the audience.

 He asked the audience at the beginning of the show to text him questions.

One girl asked "Will you sing with my sister?"

 This is what happened~

I don't know who she is, 

but she was fantastic!

Of course, "You Raise Me Up" was the final encore and highlight.

A nice way to spend an evening...

What was the last concert you attended?

IN THE GARDEN...

I'm teaching at our very first Summer Garden Club this week at school.
  

Yesterday the kids were having a wonderful time weeding and making discoveries

until one of them discovered a bee's nest!  

Four out of five of our kids got stung, some several times!

Praying that today they all come back...

and that there's no more painful encounters with nature!

taking off...

I'm off to South Carolina to take a class with my BFF who happens to be my boss.

See you in a few days!

Blessings!

ahh...

enjoying iced pomegranate green tea...

Lightning McQueen Mural

 

 When my daughter moved into her house 

(Has it really been almost two years?)

she asked if I'd paint aLightning McQueen mural in Dayton's room.

I agreed to do it.  I got the paint.  I outlined the car.

And never got it finished!

Until now!

Happy dance!

The raceway is chalkboard paint, so you can write messages or draw pictures on it.

You can't see the two windows in these pics, but the only thing left to do is window treatments.  

I've looking for checkered raceway banners to pin up but I think I'll have to order them online.

I wanted it to finally be done before the annual 4th of July party at their house.

I couldn't have been happier when I heard Dayton say to one of Jade's friends,

" Look at my room.  My Gramma painted it all by herself."

and "Thank you, Gramma."

Love

that

boy!

xoxo

La Tour Eiffel en rose

A gift from Crystal.

It's a bank.

A reminder to save for our dreams...

I'VE BEEN STUCK IN A RUT

 

google images

But I've had it with myself! 

And,

Unexpressed ideas are lost forever...

AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION

So,

please bear with me as I catch up on the last month...

***

\|`| |/

Our town’s Memorial Day parade got rained out this year,

but the day turned out nice enough to cook out on the grill.

I enjoyed a relaxing day.

My girls did all the cooking, including prep and clean up! FAB!

~gratitude and love~

*
On June 1, the week before school got out,

tornadoes left a path of destruction 40 miles long across the state.

Too close for comfort.

Thankfully, though, we only had hail and thunderstorms.

Many are still recovering from those few minutes of fury.

I can't seem to get this picture out of my mind.

*

A few days later, my husband and I took the T

to Fenway for a Red Sox game.

On the way, we met a couple who live in one of the towns worst hit.

It makes you feel kind of funny and

SO GRATEFUL

to just get up and go about your business

when you think that a few miles away

people became homeless in the blink of an eye.

June 4th was a perfect day for a ballgame in Boston.

The weather was ideal and the Sox won. 

 I agreed to leave after the 8th inning to beat the traffic

(the Sox were winning with a healthy lead)

and we certainly needn’t have worried!

By the time we got to the T,

the game was tied and went into overtime!

They played 14 innings before beating the Oakland A’s 9-8.

We stopped for dinner at the 99 Restaurant

where Crystal works and watched the rest of the game on TV!

*
I can’t believe the last day of school was almost 3 weeks ago!

{ducks then}

Sometimes the end of the school year can’t come fast enough

and I was counting the days along with my class of mostly boys

(just one girl!) and eagerly anticipated summer vacation.

After a few days of curriculum development the day finally arrived

on Flag day this year!

~love those stars and stripes~

Did you know?   Flag Day, celebrated in the United States on June 14,

commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States in 1777.

Wikipedia

On June 15th my family was delighted that the Bruins won the Stanley Cup!

On June 19 I celebrated Father’s Day with my husband,

Dad &GrandpaExtraordinaire,

and my 3 girls.

I did have a few teary moments.

Love you, Dad. Miss you every day.

*

My family has celebrated graduations and birthdays,

I've spent hours with my grandkids

watercolor painting, reading and playing,

and chasing the ducks.

{ducks now}

*
And these pics...

were inspired by

Christine at{Vista Woman}.

Take a look here.

{Your pics made me smile, Christine.}

*

Now, for those of you who have made it

all the way through this lengthy post,

I will leave you with this thought and photo of sweet Olivia...

Life is good.

Blessings!