"A best friend is like a four leaf clover, hard to find and lucky to have."

“Throughout scripture we encounter the need for us to remember that the Lord has His own timetable for unfolding things; it will not always accord with our schedules or our wants. When, in our extremities, we urgently call for a divine response, there may be, instead, a divine delay. This is not because God, at the moment, is inattentive or loves us less than perfectly. Rather, it is because we are being asked, at the moment, to endure more for the welfare of our souls. The blessed meek understand that God loves them even when they may not be able to explain the meaning of what is happening to them or around them.”

-Neal A. Maxwell

The Many Faces of Leslie....HAPPY BIRTHDAY LESLIE! I LOVE YOU!

“May you always walk in sunshine. May you never want for more. May Irish angels rest their wings right beside your door.”

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields and,
Until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

"The sages do not consider that making no mistakes is a blessing. They
believe, rather, that the great virtue of man lies in his ability to
correct his mistakes and continually make a new man of himself."

“Love is not written on paper, for paper can be erased. Nor is it etched on stone, for stone can be broken. But it is inscribed on a heart and there it shall remain forever.”

Happy Rainy Day to my friends!!!!

Weather is a great metaphor for life - sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad, and there's nothing much you can do about it but carry an umbrella.
~Pepper Giardino

Life is no bed of roses
For roses have thorns, you see,
But handling with care and balance
Will protect from injury.
All gardens have seasons of beauty
Where the flowers of our living grow
With colours and shapes aplenty
Sweet fragrance to bestow.
Life's flowers need careful tending
For all life needs sun and rain,
And Love and Faith unending
For Hope to flower again!

Vintage Valentine

sold...thank you!!!!

A rainy day for just such a treat.....

Love is like swallowing hot chocolate before it has cooled off. It takes you by surprise at first, but keeps you warm for a long time.
- Author Unknown

We know what we are, but not what we may be.
- William Shakespeare

Could these really be real?

If so, I know what is missing from my garden - - - CHOCOLATE roses!!!

Those who hope in the Lord will renew
their strength. They will soar on wings
like eagles; they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:31

"There is a light in this world.
A healing spirit more powerful than any darkness we may encounter.
We sometime lose sight of this force when there is suffering, and too much pain.
Then suddenly, the spirit will emerge through the lives of ordinary people who hear a call and answer in extraordinary ways.”

~Mother Teresa

A couple of my favorite and forever Valentines....

And in the garden of my heart So ceaselessly shall shine,
The little birds will know thou art Mine own true Valentines.
(You always were and always shall be!)

Cupid Cowboy

Do you love me because I am beautiful, or am I beautiful because you love me?
-Cinderella

"Love all, trust a few. Do wrong to none."

- William Shakespeare

It's coming...almost Valentine's Day...my favorite!

It's not even like I get the red heart box of candy (although I would sort of like it, but I'd end up eating it all) and we don't go to dinner on Valentine's night because we know it will be too crowded. I don't exchange gifts with Royce so it's not materialistic at all....but for some reason I love it. I'm just a born romantic...

Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.
-George Washington

Life is not holding a good hand; Life is playing a poor hand well.
- Danish proverb

Every man stamps his value on himself... man is made great or small
by his own will.
- J.C.F. von Schiller

Cambria...a nice Christmas jaunt over to the coast never hurt anybody!

"It is possible for Christ to be born in men’s lives, and when such an experience actually happens, a man is “in Christ”—Christ is “formed” in him. This presupposes that we take Christ into our hearts and make Him the living contemporary of our lives. He is not just a general truth or a fact in history, but the Savior of men everywhere and at all times. When we strive to be Christlike, He is “formed” in us; if we open the door, He will enter; if we seek His counsel, He will counsel us. For Christ to be “formed” in us, we must have a belief in Him and in His Atonement. Such a belief in Christ and the keeping of His commandments are not restraints upon us. By these, men are set free. This Prince of Peace waits to give peace of mind, which may make each of us a channel of that peace."
--Howard W. Hunter

Looking to the light...

Custom Order - Thank You!!!

"Follow me,” the Savior said. And we realize that to follow him is not impossible. The miles which he traveled, each of us can travel, for he took them one step at a time, one journey at a time. You could walk from Jerusalem to Nazareth. You could walk to the Sea of Galilee from Nazareth. You could follow Joseph and Mary and Jesus to Egypt. You could walk to the Mount of Transfiguration and back and forth from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, the Dead Sea, Bethany, the River Jordan. All these, you could do. But this is not the kind of following that he expected. He meant for us to follow his teachings and his example. Anyone with normal health can walk those miles and climb those hills and ford those streams. But it is quite another thing to be “even as I am,” (3 Ne. 27:27) as he said to the Nephites."
--Spencer W. Kimball

Gone With the Wind

Special Order - Thank You!

"Giving, not getting, brings to full bloom the Christmas spirit. Enemies are forgiven, friends remembered, and God obeyed. The spirit of Christmas illuminates the picture window of the soul, and we look out upon the world’s busy life and become more interested in people than things. To catch the real meaning of the “spirit of Christmas,” we need only drop the last syllable, and it becomes the “Spirit of Christ."
--Thomas S. Monson

One day in retrospect the years of struggle will strike you as the most beautiful.
Sigmund Freud

Abigail Adams

"These are the times in which a genius would wish to live. It is not in the still calm of life, or the repose of a pacific station, that great characters are formed. The habits of a vigorous mind are formed in contending with difficulties. Great necessities call out great virtues. When a mind is raised, and animated by scenes that engage the heart, then those qualities which would otherwise lay dormant, wake into life and form the character of the hero and the statesman."

Abigail Adams

New Charm Necklaces...

"It is often in the trial of adversity that we learn those most critical lessons that form our character and shape our destiny."
--Dieter F. Uchtdorf

When someone does something good, applaud! You will make two people happy.

- Samuel Goldwyn

"Gratitude is of the very essence of worship. … When you walk with gratitude, you do not walk with arrogance and conceit and egotism, you walk with a spirit of thanksgiving that is becoming to you and will bless your lives”. Sincerely giving thanks not only helps us recognize our blessings, it also unlocks the doors of heaven and helps us feel God’s love."

-Gordon B. Hinckley

Yesterday's Beautiful Rainbow...

Great hopes make great men.
- Thomas Fuller (1608-1661)

"We live in terribly complex times. We are confronted by very serious problems. Some of us are faced with sickness, with economic difficulties, with worry and concern over many matters. Our refuge, our peace, our well-being lie in walking in the way of the Lord."
-Gordon B. Hinckley

Sold - Thank You!

This photo screams "JOY!" to me! Love these bugs!!!

Sold - Thank You!!!

To Wish Upon a Million Stars...

"Silently, one by one, in the infinite meadows of the heaven, blossomed the lovely stars, the forget-me-nots of the angels."
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“Reflect on your present blessings,of which every man has many;not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some."
~ Charles Dickens

If I Were Queen of the Forest....

SOLD - Thank you!!!!

To be alive, to be able to see, to walk,...it's all a miracle.
Arthur Rubinstein

"You will never know how much it cost the present generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it."
John Adams, April 1777

"Despite the changes which come into our lives and with gratitude in our hearts, may we fill our days—as much as we can—with those things which matter most. May we cherish those we hold dear and express our love to them in word and in deed."
--Thomas S. Monson

Many of our fears are tissue paper thin, and a single courageous step would carry us clear through them.
-Brendan Francis [Behan] (1923-1964) Irish Author

Gratitude for our Fathers

"Let us reflect gratitude for our fathers.
"Father . . . is ever willing to sacrifice his own comfort for that of his children. Daily he toils to provide the necessities of life, never complaining, ever concerned for the well-being of his family. This love for children, this desire to see them well and happy, is a constant in a time of change."

Thomas S.Monson

I love you dad! You're an amazing example of working tirelessly for the sake of your family! And you're a constant example of courage and comittment. I will always be grateful for the things I have learned from you.

Gratitude for our Mothers:

"There is gratitude for our mothers.
"Mother, who willingly made that personal journey into the valley of the shadow of death to give us birth, deserves our undying gratitude. One writer summed up our love for mother when he declared, 'God could not be everywhere, and so He gave us mothers.'
"While on the cruel cross of Calvary, suffering intense pain and anguish, Jesus 'saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother!' (John 19:26-27.) What a divine example of gratitude and love!"
Thomas S. Monson

My mother loves this picture of the deer...so, this is dedicated to her. She is the greatest mother in the world and I am indeed so grateful for everything about her. Her capacity to work and to give unceasingly is amazing. Her ability to make everything beautiful surpasses no one. She is and will always be a wonderful example to me in countless ways. I love you Mama.

"Gratitude is a mark of a noble soul and a refined character. We like to be around those who are grateful. They tend to brighten all around them. They make others feel better about themselves. They tend to be more humble, more joyful, more likable."

Joseph B. Wirthlin

"Consider these words written by Abraham Lincoln as part of a resolution in 1863:
"'We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in number, wealth, and power as no other Nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God who made us.
"'It behooves us, then, to humble ourselves before the offended power, to confess our . . . sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.'
Marion G. Romney

Temple Bracelet for Chantelle

SOLD...thank you!

" A friend is one to whom one may pour out all the contents of one's heart, chaff and grain together, knowing that the gentlest of hands will take and sift it, keep what is worth keeping and with a breath of kindness blow the rest away."
- Arabian Proverb

This is a quote that rings out so true for me. I'm thankful for the friends I've been blessed with, that have blown away all my chaff...into a huge pile, I might add...and still love me! Thank you sweet little birds that so lovingly step around my pile of chaff and still offer to help me fly!!! :)

The Annual Red Ribbon Parade - Say No to Drugs!!!

No words can express my love for these little angels. They make everyday heavenly!

The Waves at My Feet....

“You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment.”
-Henry David Thoreau

“The secret of success is to be in harmony with existence, to be always calm, to let each wave of life wash us a little farther up the shore.”
-Cyril Connolly

Failure is only postponed success as long as courage "coaches" ambition. The habit of persistence is the habit of victory.
Herbert Kaufman

When we tire of well-worn ways, we seek for new. This restless craving in the souls of men spurs them to climb, and to seek the mountain view.

- Ella Wheeler Wilcox

To fulfill a dream, to be allowed to sweat over lonely labor, to be given a chance to create, is the meat and potatoes of life. The money is the gravy.

-- Bette Davis (1908-1989) American Actress

Halloween -- 3 years ago...

Awww....