Part of us had a get- together last evening. The other part of us had a their own, bigger get-together in their home state.

The purpose of these two separate get-togethers was to reveal some important, secret information.

Early in the week, an ultra sound had been taken, the sex of the baby had been revealed to the doctor. It was secretly written on two separate pieces of paper. Individual papers, were sealed in two envelopes.

One of the envelopes was delivered to a local bakery, and the other envelope was mailed to our youngest daughter. Both envelopes received the utmost secrecy.

Sunday evening was the time chosen for the revealing information.

We gathered at our oldest daughter and husband's home.

They gathered at their home with friends and family.

The balloons, the plates and napkins, the everything was pink and blue, including the clothing choices of each quest, dependent on what their guess of gender would be. I wore pink, and my husband wore blue.

We had our surprise cake and they had theirs.

We had the Skyp camera set up and ready to go. When your family lives far away, it is a method of being able to see each other and communicate.

We waited eagerly until the planned time, taking into account the time difference of the two states.

Finally, our SIL cut through the big, plain white cake...revealing the pink icing, and at the same

time the cake on our table was revealed. What fun! A little girl will be joining our family in the coming months.




There is no mistaking this color of icing. I was right!

We are all excited...





...and so are these two.

Congratulations to the two of you!

Thanks to these two we learned a new method in revealing the gender of

a precious little one waiting to be born.

What a miracle...a new little baby is being created, and we are thrilled!

A day set aside to honor mothers...what a privilege this is.

The older I get, the more I realize the great importance of the role they play in our lives.

Wishing each of you, a beautiful and relaxing day!

Happy Mother's Day!

The first Iris to open in my flower bed.

These Iris remind me of one of my dear friends. She dug up some of her

Iris bulbs for me, after an evening visit in her home. That was several

years ago. Each Spring as they multiply and bloom...

...they remind me of her and her gardens extrordinaire.

My first Peony, which grew from two bags of bulbs which I purchased
on a clearance rack outside of a Kmart store, years ago. They continue to produce
many beautiful blooms.




My first of many, Knockout roses. Oh, the happiness that each soft pink rose brings to me.

Speaking of happiness...this new product of body wash, was the editor's pick in the new Instyle magazine, for the category of creams, cleansers and scrubs.

It is The Nivea "Touch of Happiness" body wash in Orange blossom.

It smells amazing and has a rich, creamy lather, which can refresh your skin and your mood when you shower with it.

So...just in case you need a simple Mother's day gift for someone, and it happens to be tomorrow...you could go to your local drug store, buy this product and a green exfolliating green mesh sponge.

Hang the sponge on the back of the body wash container, add a bright colored ribbon and a sweet note, thanking them for the touches of happiness that they add to your life. An instant fun, inexpensive gift.

Maybe, you could give this to someone who recently(or not so recently), lost their mother.

I am sure this special day would be a painful one for them, with reminders everywhere of our mothers.

In the same Instyle magazine, that I picked up to read while waiting for an appointment, I saw in the favorite shampoos and conditioners section of the yearly

"150 best beauty buys", this new shampoo by Garnier Fructis Co.

This body boost shampoo is great. I bought it and have been using it. It really does give hair a body boost. I agreed with their evaluation of this product, along with the

Tresemme' 24 hour Body Root Boosting Spray that also made the list. It really did help give body to my hair when I used both of these new found products.

When products are tested by many and the top choices make the list, I find them worth trying.

Both of these products can be found at your local drug stores and in some cases, grocery stores.

I tell you this, just in case you want to put together another simple gift basket for

Mother's day...

...like this one that I did. An old glass dish from the flea market, the before mentioned shampoo, the 24 body root, and a bar of soap in the flowered book container(a purchase from Marshall's).

Complete the gift with a ribbon and a stamped card. Cover with clear cellophane, and you have another useful and fun gift.

"Being a woman created by God is such a privilege~and the gift of our femininty is something we can give both to ourselves and to the people around us. Just one flower, one candle, can warm up a cold, no-nonsense atmosphere with an aura of "I care".

~Emily Barnes

However you choose to do it, it is most important that we let others know,

that we do "care".

FYI...in case you are ever in need of ways to entertain your little ones...

Big towels on the floor.

Water in both sinks.

Two kitchen chairs slid up to the kitchen sink.

A small tin watering can.

A plastic funnel.

A 2-cup measuring cup.

A few small unbreakable bowls...

An hour and a half of simple, free entertainment...surprised that my idea worked.





The older ones tired of this...and after her nap, it was her turn to step up to the plate.



It was all hers, and she found it too good to be true.



A half hour later, she was still totally absorbed in her new found water world.

She is our sister-in-law.

She always carries a good looking purse.

You will never find it cluttered and unorganized.

She can always reach into it and pull out exactly what she needs(I dream of that happening to me).

She is soon to be reaching the magical age of "50".

It was our turn to celebrate "her".

These tiny, colorful and detailed little purses were the perfect thing

to display the "before" and "now" sepia finished photos of this

beautiful lady.
If you ever need these inexpensive treasures, you can find them at

weddingfavorsunlimited.com

At each place setting we placed these adorable 4x6 cardboard purses.
In each one were small cellophane bags filled with three of her favorite choices of snacks.
Another one of our fun internet finds.



Here is how they came to us. It was a simple process to create them using mailing tape to complete the project.
I ordered a few extra because I think they would be a clever way to give tiny cookies or a piece of jewelry, or any small gift to my friends.
Another fun and inexpensive way to celebrate a special birthday.
I hope you can visit this site sometime and see all the clever ideas that are displayed;
birthdayexpress.com





In the back pocket of the purse, we put a plain white index card with a stamped message for
our birthday queen along with a few touches of glitter.




It is another sunny morning and I have a busy day ahead.
Maybe later I will be able to share a few pictures of last evening's event. My other dear SIL was the photographer for the evening so I know the pictures will be so good.
What fun to celebrate a milestone like this of someone that you love.
Hope you have a profittable day today.

Last evening we hosted a dinner for a group of our good friends. A few years ago, we all got together when our children attended the same school. The evening turned out to be so much fun, despite the fact that it was the first time that we had visited together as a group that we decided to do it again. It has been a few years since that time, and we try to get together a few times a year.

Last evening we were eager to welcome them to our home. Hesitantly, I will share a few,aspects of the dinner, only because I have enjoyed seeing the many different tablescapes that you all shared in blogland.

Seating 12 adults at my dining room table is not the most comfortable route to go, but since we all like each other and it was my only option, we made due.

The plates are from the Jaclyn Smith Collection at KMart.

The flowers for the centerpiece and favors are from the Spirea bushes that grow along our driveway.

The centerpiece container is one I featured last Spring on this blog, where I purchased a clear glass bowl and a goblet from the Dollar Tree and glued the goblet bottom onto the glass bowl bottom. I then filled the bowl with water and the flowers, added a candle in the goblet, and my centerpiece was complete.

This week, my soft pink peonies will be blooming. They will look so nice arranged in this glass bowl too.

Simple glass vases with the flowers were the favors of the evening, along with name cards created with folded index cards, an ink stamp and some touches of glitter. I am not sure that Martha would be impressed with my style, but that is okay with me.



An upclose photo of the Spirea flowers in the centerpiece.



As always, candlelight was included in my evening. I think candles add a warmth and a coziness to evening visits. This is my kitchen table centerpiece.

For the dessert, I filled crystal parfait dishes with scoops of vanilla ice cream, covered them and put them back in the freezer, until time for dessert. Before serving, I added my frozen fresh peach puree' from last summer, a dab of whipped cream, and stuck a viola with stem through the hole of a chocolate covered pretzel. A delicious and simple dessert.





This bouquet of beautiful pink flowers was a thoughtful gift from my sister. She made the gift even better by getting a vase from my cupboard and arranging the flowers for me. They look so nice of my kitchen island.

I




The vibrant pink Ranunculis make a striking arrangement.

Another friend brought me a gorgeous pink special kind of geranium. I look forward to planting this outside in my flower bed.

It was a great evening, with lots of discussions, some serious and some light hearted, and lots of laughter.

I appreciate your visit to my blog this evening, and every time you drop by.

~some of the photographs were captured by my sister.

My mother's favorite flower, with it's tiny white fragrant flowers, grows so perfectly in the flowerbed outside our back door. Everytime I see them, or smell the wonderful aroma of "Lily- of- the- Valley", I am reminded of her. Yesterday, I found these blooming in our back flower bed, because she had loving planted them. What exquisite beauty exists in each tiny flower.

My recycled front door basket. I took this basket that has graced my front door for the last two summers, and tore out the old and faded faux flowers, except for the white petunias. They still looked good, and of course had not faded. I picked up the rest of the faux flowers at KMart, believe it or not. I choose different color schemes for the front of my home each summer. Then I coordinate the flowers that I plant in my three big pots, with the front door arrangement. This year my color scheme is ...red, yellow, white and a touch of blue. I will show you my planted pots in another post. Thought that you might like to see my "new" front door basket, that will welcome my family and friends this summer. I needed quite a few flowers in it, so that one could see it from the road. It is certainly not professionally done, but I smile to think that KMart helped me out so inexpensively, and it is most important that my front door says "welcome" to all who visit it.




And, I wanted to share the lovely watering can of flowers that would greet you at my back door, thanks to my dear sister. She gave this to me for my birthday a few weeks ago. It must be the perfect spot for it, because it is filled with blossoms. I think of her each time I water it. What a special gift! These two little pajama clad girls, tried to pose for this picture to appease their mamaw, but due to the bright morning sun shining in their eyes, they would not look at my camera.


Appreciate The Beauty and Wonder

"I find each day too short for all the thoughts that I want to think, all the walks that I want to take, all the books that I want to read, and all the friends I want to see. The longer I live, the more my mind dwells upon the beauty, and the wonder of the world."(and the One who so lovingly created it all for me to enjoy).

~John Burroughs