My Easter Home

Still during...down 37 pounds...

Welcome to my Easter home.

a little mini typewriter with a favorite Scripture verse...

carrots and bunnies...



.

and an antique typewriter with a typed welcome message ...

my Easter tree...

entry display...

dining room buffet...

a little thrift store lamb...

my rooster egg dish...another thrift store find...

Easter chalkboard...

We are having our Easter lunch and egg hunt tomorrow with our parents and kids and grandkids. We are enjoying visiting a church that we have found just a few miles down the road. Our lunch will be ham, mac and cheese, roasted asparagus, deviled aggs, fruit salad, rolls, and angel food cake with strawberries.
I pray that you will get to celebrate our Savior's ressurrection tomorrow with your family.
I better get to cleaning, cooking, and setting my table.

In Him,

My Journey and Resolutions

I promised you I would share something in my next post. Well, here goes. I have decided to lose weight and get healthier. This is definitely easier said than done. I weighed more than I ever have, and found out my cholesterol was too high, as is my blood pressure. With a high family history of heart disease, I decided it was time to make the change. Mother and Daddy got us an elliptical machine for our Christmas present, and I have been faithful to use it at least 4-5 times weekly. We have been trying to walk outdoors when the weather is nice. We have protein shakes or high fiber cereal for breakfast, eat a lot of turkey, salads and chicken. We limit our red meat consumption, and eat tons of vegetables and beans.

Here are a few "before" pictures. double chins and belly fat

I am a nurse, and I know better. Weight is something I have battled all my adult life. In fact before I had children, I remember saying I would not end up like this. NEVER say "never".

I don't usually make New Year's resolutions, and I don't usually announce them so no one will know if I fail. I like to stay in my comfort zone, you know. I have lost 33.6 pounds, and I am continuing this way of eating and exercising, hopefully, for the rest of my life. I am not calling it a "diet", but just a healthy lifestyle. I go back to have my cholesterol checked in a couple weeks. It better be lower!!! I do feel much better, and I have more energy. There is just one BAD thing about it...all my clothes are too big. This can get expensive. I will continue sharing about this journey I am on. Here is my "during" photo. Much better, I think.

Everything John Deere

What a fun day we had Saturday! Our local John Deere dealership invited us to John Deere Day. Well, my hubby and the grandsons are all about anything John Deere. They had a balloon man, and Jackson was proud of his sword.

Hudson sure loved "riding" that lawnmower. One day when he is a teenager, I hope he likes riding lawnmowers as much. Me and my boy...notice we were wearing the green...

Love Jackson's hat that the dealership gave him when he and Buddy went down to "just look" at lawnmowers about a year ago. They came home with a riding lawnmower for Joey and a Gator ride on for Jackson that day. Notice those ears folded down. Yes, he wore it like that all day.

I loved that they iced down the drinks in the trailer.

Here is Buddy with Hudson.

( Jackson wouldn't sit still long enough for a photo other than action shots.)

Speaking of action...

A favorite was a trough filled with feed corn. Hudson did taste a few bites, but he loved it.

It rained all day, so the dealership cleaned out their garage, and it was a perfect place for a party! They had a band, hot dogs, hamburgers, and BBQ, giant slides, bouncey house, a balloon man, a ride on train, and all the lawnmowers and tractors on display.

It was a wonderland for those two little boys

and 2 big boys, too (husband and son in law).

I haven't posted in a while, and I have something exciting (for me) I will share with my next post. "Til then,

Superbowl Party

Of course Superbowl is just an excuse to get together for our family. We do like watching the commercials, but I was disappointed in them last night. I really didn't have a favorite team, but everyone else was cheering for the Packers, so I did too. We are trying to eat healthier, but game day foods just aren't too healthy. We love hot wings, and I decided we would make our own. I placed them on a nonstick sprayed cookie sheet and baked them for 30 minutes on each side at 375 degrees, and then we crisped them up for just a minute under the broiler. Then we tossed them in a honey BBQ
sauce and a traditional hot wing sauce made with Franks hot sause. The were really good...and a little healthier than those fried ones.

I made a pot of chili, too...
The boys got to drink from special football cups. I had them from Christmas (from Dollar Tree). They had a Santa design inside, so I put our football napkins in the copier, and cut a template to cover up the Santa design.

Some football decorations...

Shawn brought chips and dip, which we scarfed down before dinner
was ready.

I think Jackson was licking the bowl clean ,here.
Hot wings ready...and somebody's plate...

Shannon made some delicious chocolate peanut butter cupcakes.

Hudson will attest to the deliciousness...

Score!

Fun times.

Very Vintage Valentine Vignette

I did a little Valentine's decorating this morning. First I'll share my mantel. I placed the deer and pinecones there a couple weeks ago when we had snow. I had a had a hard time deciding what to do after Christmas decorations were taken down. I hung my Valentine's garland below the mantel. I guess this is as good as it gets until Easter/Spring. Speaking of Spring...I can't wait.

You have seen my entryway table decorated for every season, and now it is "gussied" up for Valentine's.
I will share the items I chose to display, and a little story about some of them. This little vintage pink beaded purse is so sweet. It has a little lace hanky in it. On the plate are an antique perfume bottle, a little eye wash bottle, a dried rose from a wedding boquet, and a silver powder compact. A strand of pearls dresses them up a bit. You will notice the enlongated bottle on the back of the plate...it is an antique bottle my Mother shared with me. Story goes, when one was in mourning for their loved one, they would catch their tears in this little bottle. Wonder how many tears it took to fill it up?

a few vintage inspired Valentines...


clipped to a tree branch...

with vintage type clothespins.

The blocks have an old timey feel. I placed a heart paperweight on an old red and white handkerchief. Some rose petals are scattered around.

Here you can see the entire tabletop at once.



Don't forget to look underneath at a cute little cherub sitting on my stack of old Bibles.

a vintage Valentiney fan...


The quilted heart pillows were made by Mother from heirloom family quilts.


My late grandmother, better known as Bam, wore a favorite red corduroy jacket. After she passed away, my late mother in law took that jacket apart and made this adorable bear for me. It is a very special bear I have cherished for over 24 years now.

I added some candles and a little overstuffed miniature chair and a bowl of cherries. Reminds me of that mary Engelbright saying..."Life is just a chair of bowlies".

Thank you for sharing my Valentine vignette with me.

Have a nice Valentine's Day, and spend it with someone you love.

love is all you need,

Sheila