Recognizing A Special Birthday

Dear Son-In-Law

Your birthday is a good time to recognize you for the wonderful husband, caring father, and the loyal SIL that you are to all of us. We admire you for the many hats you wear, the skills you posess, and the seemingly endless amounts of energy that you have, to fulfill your varied roles. May today be a special day for you.

A Leisurely Stroll Through An Impressive Flower Studio

My uncle, aunt and two of their good friends are on a road trip this past week. At my request, I have been receiving gifts of his photography from each day. As I have stated many times on this blog, this guy certainly has a fascinating talent in the area of photography. I am continually amazed as I receive each Picassa Slide Show, at how his skill progressively develops. So, if you enjoy photography, gorgeous flower photos, and you have time to sit and view...then this blog post might be what you like. I am overwhelmed at the beauty, the detail, the colors, the textures, and the uniqueness of each and every flower, butterfly, bee and bush on every photo. I view so much artistic talent in each and everyone of my blog visits, and it continually inspires me, but...really the artistry on these pictures just does not compare. Truly a Master Artist is responsible in this category. Enjoy!!!

My Uncle(the photographer extraordinaire) and his dear wife. Thank you so much for sharing nature's finest with all of us.

A Reason To Celebrate

This past weekend was a memorable weekend at Westpoint. My nephew received his ring after completing his third year at the school. The "Ring Weekend" included many special festivities, the main one being the ceremony to receive their rings. What an honor this was for my nephew. I am so proud of him!!! I have learned many things regarding the rigors of life at Westpoint since he has attended this school. I am amazed at the accomplishments of these guys and girls. They definitely have won my respect through it all.

My handsome nephew is the second one on the left.


Here he is with his beautiful girlfriend, who was honored to share in this important weekend.

Here he is with three of his good friends who also participated in the ceremony. One more year to go. A major accomplishment for this young man.

The Lighter Side of Ordinary Life

It is very rare for me to post twice in one day, but today is the day. I chose this picture that I took of my granddaughter this past week. You remember...the one I did a whole post on last month about her never smiling when I get my camera out? The post where I shared three pictures in a role of her totally sober while looking at my camera? Well...here she is across the desk from me, while I was working on the computer. Life is so full of change. I shared this today because;

~First of all my original post today was about laughter at ones self, and this tied in.

~I also shared this today, because in my travels through life and through blogland lately, I realize how many of you are hurting and going through extremely difficult times. I share this hesitantly, but with the desire that it might lighten the load for a few minutes.

~As some of you know, my oldest daughter has a blog that is listed on my blog favorites list. She is a very busy lady with three babies and twins due soon, so blogging has taken a back burner for her. In fact, until this past week, it has been a long time since she posted. All this to say, I read her last two postings and thought maybe it might add a smile to your day too, if you did the same. Her blog is thecoffeecottage.blogspot.com/ Her amazing sense of humor, her ability to express herself and the somewhat taxing situation she now finds herself in, made reading her blog one of the highlights of my day. Thanks for the laugh dear daughter!

"Ice Cream"

" A tourist was standing in line to buy an ice cream cone at a Thrifty Drug store in Beverly Hills. To her utter shock and amazement, who should walk in and stand right behind her but Paul Newman! Well the lady, even though she was rattled, determined to maintain her composure. She purchased her ice cream cone and turned confidently and exited the store.

However, to her horror, she realized that she had left the counter without her ice cream cone! She waited a few minutes till she felt all was clear, and then went back into the store to claim her cone. As she approached the counter, the cone was not in the circular receptacle, and for a moment she stood there pondering what might have happened to it. Then she felt a polite tap on her shoulder, and turning was confronted by--you guessed it--Paul Newman. The famous actor then told the lady that if she was looking for her ice cream cone, she had put it into her purse!"

~Joe Lomusio from"If I Should Die Before I Live"

I love this story! Maybe it is because it is a story that could have happened to me. I have plenty of my own to tell, but now does not seem like the time. I am thinking though that some of my dear friends out there would just love the opportunity to tell you my stories. Please refrain. There are times in life when it is okay to laugh at yourself, and to realize that at your expense, your friends may get a good laugh too.

Special Moments From A Memorable Wedding

One of my daughter's dear friends got married this past weekend. I thought I would share a few pictures of this elegantly beautiful wedding. Above is the couple of honor. The thought and planning that they put into this special day, was obvious. His grandfather's part in the wedding ceremony was definitely a heartfelt addition. I will never forget his tender words of admonition to this sweet couple. She has been a friend to my daughter for many years. When you watch these young girls grow up, and then have the blessing of attending their wedding, it is a real joy and privilege. She was a beautiful, radiant bride and certainly married a great guy.




The bride's parents who have been friends of ours for years. They were instrumental in much of the planning and organization of this wedding. This lady's calligraphy and organizational skills were evident throughout the wedding weekend.

Our daughter and her good friend...the bride. It seems like only yesterday they were in middle school together.


The girls in the bridal party. Some are cousins of our daughter. Some are old and new friends. They all enjoyed the hours they spent together, celebrating this memorable occasion.



The groom's family are florists, resulting in many beautiful arrangements at the wedding and the reception. This picture was taken up front at the reception. The green and white was a lovely combination.



The centerpieces at the reception tables added such elegance to the room. The granny smith apples and the white flowers and green berries were beautiful!!

The wedding cake was exceptional in my mind. Simple and yet strikingly gorgeous with the tiny white dots and the green hydrangaes. Perfect combination!

The handsome trio...my son-in-law and my two nephews. What could they be up to now???

You can see by this last picture that the dessert buffet table was a real hit!!
The dessert of the evening was an array of delicious choices of dessert. Not only did you get to pick a slice of cake or cheesecake for your individuall dessert, but clear plastic containers were available so that you could choose a slice of dessert to take home with you for the next day. This generous gesture was provided by the bride's parents. They own and operate a company that bakes each delectable dessert. Their company is recognized everywhere for their outstanding desserts.

Hopefully, you enjoyed these few memories of this fun day. The pictures are compliments of my brother-in-law and my daughter's photography skills.

Celebrating Two Birthdays

We celebrated our oldest daughter's birthday together last evening. A very simple dinner on the porch, on a perfect summer evening. Tempetures not too high...humidity low, just like I prefer. Since time was of the essence, this was my creation for her birthday "cake". I will share what I used to do this, just in case you ever need a quick, inexpensive way to celebrate someone's birthday, who really enjoys cheesecake.


You would think, looking at this box in the grocery store, that this would not be anything exceptional...but it is.


First package...add melted butter and sugar. Stir and divide into 12 muffin cups with cupcake papers. I used an empty babyfood jar to condense the crust.



Package 2...whip with cold milk. I also added 3/4 teaspoon of vanilla. Pour into 12 muffin papers on to the graham cracker crust. Refrigerate until settled. I used a partial can of Blueberry Pie Filling mixed with fresh blueberries, and topped each small cheesecake. Next I took Cool Whip and put it into a plastic bag with tiny cut out of the corner of it, to add a dollop to each one.

Some washed faux flowers, birthday candles, and a few hours spent in the refrigerator, created a simple, inexpensive, delicious birthday treat

We also celebrated our SIL's birthday. His favorite dessert is vanilla ice cream.

I placed these chocolate dessert shells on a tray, added a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a dollop of whipped topping, and sprinkled crushed Heath Bars over the top. This dessert also spent the day in the freezer. I had four camping ornaments that I added to this tray, representing his enjoyment of camping.



These small desserts were also a hit. They took so little time, and I did not have any last minute stress. We had a good time celebrating together. I close with this picture, that is certainly one of my very favorites. I discovered this scene of little brother with big brother, when I walked into the family room in the late afternoon. How sweet!!