{ crystals and clothespins }

it's been a trying week here at heaven's walk

my 21 year old nephew who was born with muscular dystrophy

was admitted to the hospital with breathing difficulties

he had surgery yesterday for a permanent feeding tube

we continue to pray for strength and comfort for him

my mother was also admitted to the hospital after falling in her bedroom

she broke her clavicle, two ribs, and fractured her eye socket

she is recuperating at home with my dad by her side



so i am doing a lot of this....

i am leaning toward God with a heart full of love and trust
knowing that He is in control

holding both of them in a healing embrace...



amidst the sadness and anxiety this week
i received a lovely gift at my door from a sister-in-Christ ~
michelle at emerald cove

a sweet little white ceramic bird lay next to a
beautiful french-inspired bottle on which she tied a vintage key

and filling this treasured bottle with the pretty french graphic was
the most wonderful smelling lavender bath crystals

three tiny white starfish were nestled in the box also

i placed them in the vintage glass cabinet that hangs in my loo

thank you so much, my sweet friend

you'll never know how those lovely gifts brought some sunshine to my soul this week ♥


*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *  


another wonderful treasure also made it's way into heaven's walk this week

purchased from the wonderful boys at

barnhouse market

a vintage wicker basket filled with
old clothespins weathered to a beautiful patina
and worn smooth by chore-weary hands

crazy....but there's just something about old clothespins that warm my heart

maybe it's just knowing that some farm wife from decades ago
used them to hang her linens on the line with them
and now i'll be doing the same thing come springtime...

google image

or maybe it reminds me of helping my mother hang the laundry on our clothesline 

next to the big old lilac bush in our backyard 

when i was a child

google image

and maybe i'll hang up some of my mother's old recipes

in my kitchen just like amy did

photo: all things home

either way

they will be lovingly used out and about our home

and i will cherish each time i use them

grateful to God that i am physically able to

photo: the robin & sparrow - etsy

 so i want you to remember
that when you're having a day full of
anxiety and sadness
and you find yourself down on your knees
giving it all up to God

he's hearing you ~

believe it


and he's sending some sunshine your way...

maybe in the form of

crystals and clothespins

{ hugs }

[update on debbie:  she's home, tired, but is now able to eat soft foods!
thank you for your continued prayers!]






join me at these great linky parties ~

metamorphosis monday
nifty thrifty tuesdays
wow us wednesdays
white wednesday
good life wednesdays
vintage inspiration friday
show and tell friday
feathered nest friday
saturday night special 

{ MIA and an update }

i've been MIA

for what seems like forever

and i've missed you all! 

i have a good reason though

my computer broke

 (ermmm......actually i dropped it on its head)

 and i just got it back on saturday

so i spent numerous days and evenings

bored out of my gourd

well....actually i got caught up on a few odd jobs 

that always get put off because i'm spending time with you

(which is much more important of course ♥)

 so

instead of driving my hubby absolutely nutty 

by my constant whining and weeping and wringing of hands

i sorted through mega piles of magazines to pass on to friends...

floofed my office a tad...

pitcher - etsy; lavender - dreamy whites; fan - allegan antique market; frame - doster emporium; photo - florida bureau of tourism

made my twine and burlap ribbon look pretty in 

containers i purchased at farmhouse wares

containers - farmhouse wares; twine, bird - hobby lobby; burlap ribbon - michael's

scrounged around in the basement and 

made some more book bundles...

boxwood topiary - meijer's; lamp - target; clay tags - me

stenciled french script on tiles to sell this spring...

painted my barn a pretty blue...

(what?????  nooo.....not really.....but i really love the color of this barn)

probably because it reminds me of the ocean

which i've also spent a lot of time dreaming about lately

all in all

i did survive ten days without blogging

(though it was not easy mind you)

and i know that i worried a lot of you

for that ~  i am so sorry

so i want to 

for your concern and your love

you girls just rock my world

you know that?

i know you have been also worried about debbie

i spoke with her today

after spending another two weeks in the hospital

she is home

she still has a feeding port in and is on fluids and ice chips for now

but is feeling a little better

and is glad to be back in her own home

in her own bed

she's hoping to be at least on soft foods by the time she and jim go to sanibel island with hubby and me next month

her surgeon wants her to go with us one way or another also

which was comforting for her to hear

it means that he thinks she'll be feeling much better by that time

she wants to thank you all so much for 

your continued prayers

your continued encouragement

and the loving cards you've been sending her

and she sent a huge hug to you all

you rock her world too  

{ grateful hugs }

♥

linking this week with ~

between naps on the porch

for metamorphosis monday

coastal charm 

for nifty thrifty tuesday

a beach cottage  

for good life wednesday

faded charm

for white wednesday

savvy southern style 

for wow us wednesday

french country cottage 

for feathered nest friday

 

 

{ french flower bucket and linky parties }

while it was doing this outside today

(again...)

i was  inside

doing this

taking an ordinary looking

galvanized bucket filled with my favorite lavender fleurs...

and working a little magic on it

with a paris flower market stencil.

after taping it securely in position

i did a little 'pouncing' with my stencil brush

and added a little french flair!

oooh la la!

tres chic?

i think i spent too many hours checking out all of the 

wonderfully inspiring linky parties

 

and could barely sleep last night

because my mind was whirling with so many wonderful ideas like

fences on my wall

coasters and trivets

an extra extra large chalkboard

french enamel tags

subway art

farmhouse signs

whew!

see what i mean?

i want to try them all!

if you've never visited a linky party,

you're in for a real treat.

(...ummmm...and maybe a couple of sleepless nights? )

 there are A LOT of very talented bloggers out there

who share their God-given crafting talents (and tutorials) on their blogs

which will most certainly inspire you to try your hand at something new!

 

so what craft did you work on today?

 { hugs }

{ entriente }

♥

 ~ linking to the linky parties posted on my sidebar!

be sure to check them out!

{better than shopping}

i will admit

i love to shop


no surprise there....huh?

to my hubby's chagrin

(and my joy)

i love to see a package stuffed in my mailbox

or to see the smiling man in brown 

at my door

so today when i tromped my way to the mailbox

that is buried in a snowbank as tall as me

there was an small, unexpected box 

waiting for

my friend, jo from secret garden cottage

sent me some sunshine

on a cold, winter day

in the box with a sweet note were some 

darling little alphabet flash-cards

scrabble-like letter chips that spelled "home"

and a beautiful little vintage ironstone bowl

thank you so much, dear jo!

i am so grateful for your friendship!

i love my little treasures...

i love my blog friends....

♥

{hugs}