Vintage photoshoot pics~~part 2

Hello friends~wanted to share with you the rest of the pictures that Jolyn, the photographer took/edited/designed the other day from the
Vintage Photoshoot.

Now, let us remember that this was A PHOTOSHOOT
so all looks *perfect*!!

I was playing house in my empty house, (my sister was watching my 3 children). So I got to make eggs peacefully without hungry morning bellies calling out to me and irking me first thing upon rising. Am I the only one who gets SO ANNOYED at my kids begging for food WHILE.I'M.MAKING.THE.FOOD???

I do not look like this everyday....actually ANY day

so don't let your mind play tricks on you!!

It feels really vain to be posting all these pictures of just myself.
There are way MORE IMPORTANT THINGS HAPPENING IN THE WORLD, in the lives of dear individuals, in the quiet of peoples souls and in the HEAVENLIES. It's not about me, my, and mine!!! I recognize that and I guess you could call that my *disclaimer* for posting the next 20 pictures of myself!!

Hope you enjoy the details!!

note to self: do not ever again wear stilettos while trying to ride a bike
down a busy road.

MY BABY GIRL IS GROWING UP SO FAST,
(and will "cheese it" on command~~~oh dear!!)

See that little beauty in the bottom right corner?
She's my newest find from craigslist and boy, is she a gem; an old, crackling gem, but a nameless one as of now. Feel free to leave a comment with a name that might seem fitting....remember, she's a she)!! I've had some good suggestions, but nothing has really clicked as of yet, (I like to name my favorite things..... yes, I am odd and I'm ok with that)!

I have so many fond memories of listening to our record player as a child.

Especially over Christmas...."Come on, Ring those Bells" by Evie was my favorite!

I found it at Goodwill the other day, (practically brand new) and may or may not have squealed out loud with delight!!

This next picture holds a lot of symbolism for me.
Most mornings I pick an apron that somewhat goes with what I'm wearing.

(I don't know when this started happening, but it's been a few years now).

And when my day is done it finally comes off and goes back on the hook, (or in the wash depending on the type of day it was or if one of the children had a runny nose)!!!!

Just a little something that she captured that is special to me.

Reality just got home.....all 3 of them!!! xoxo

Talk to you later......

"God gave us memories
that we might have roses in December."
~J.M. Barrie, Courage, 1922

He is FOR you!!

what a beautiful video i watched last night.

i wanted to share it with you.

(You're going to realize pretty quickly
why i thought this music video was one of the cutest ones i've ever seen)!!


But, besides that~~~

JUST KNOW THAT TODAY
HE IS FOR YOU,
NOT AGAINST YOU,
(no matter what your feelings may SHOUT or whisper to your soul)!!

"Leave her alone," said Jesus.
"Why are you bothering her?
She has done a BEAUTIFUL thing to me."
Mark 14:6

One Hour Massage

It's a cozy, rainy day around here.

We're all still in pj's and it's almost 11:30am and I'm okay with that.
The wood stove is lit and the house is thick with warmth.
A new candle burns nicely on the kitchen table and the 3rd load of laundry is started.

Every person in this house, (including yours truly) holds in their hand a little container filled with pepperidge farms goldfish, (xtra cheddar).

It's a good day.

A normal day.

A blessed day.

I'm working on making my annual, handmade Christmas gift certificates for ONE HOUR MASSAGES, {not sure if ya'll know that I'm a massage therapist}. I work out of our home about one night a week.

So, I'll be surrounded by glitter and bows and fun colored paper making these one-of-a-kind certificates that I would like to think are gifts in and of themselves!!

If you know me personally and are interested in purchasing one, I'm sharing a Pre-Christmas Special~~~

one certificate for $45

two certificates for $80.

Hopefully they will be able to be redeemed in 2011 in the new *studio* above the carriage house, it's going to be LOVELY!!!!

"There's never enough time
to do all the nothing you want."
~Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes

Some words from Rita Springer

When I first started listening to and loving *worship music* it was the good ol' Vineyard TAPES that were my favorite, (yes, I'm old I guess)! This was one of my favorite.....when it was released I listened to it day and night....and if I remember correctly one time I was driving with a friend, (Ang) and her tape player wasn't working, so we had one of those little kid radios, (the one with the pretend microphone attached to it), we loaded that thing with fresh batteries and we were on our way to the beginnings of TBS, (Tuesday night Bible Study). The joy of worshipping with a friend is hard to replicate!!

During those days a name started becoming more popular, Rita Springer.
So for the past 15 years I've been following her music and attending her conferences and such.

Today I was reading her blog and she said some beautiful things
that I thought I'd pass along:

"I am grateful for how the Lord has cleared the counters of my life of so many things that didn’t need to be there any longer. I tend to take on responsibilities I just was never supposed to. The gracious hand of God, trying to teach me to let go of what is not mine to worry about has been really freeing. I love the statement in scripture, “It is for freedoms sake that Christ has set us free.” (Gal 5) I’ve been pondering the part of “for freedoms sake”.

How often do we muck up the atmosphere of our lives by hanging on to responsibilities we feel tied to or guilty keeping? It’s really quite a revelation to let go of something you don’t know is binding you until you finally let it go and freedom rushes over your senses! I have had to take a long hard look at my “to do” list and my “keep this going” list and start really crossing off the things that I don’t need “to do” anymore and I don’t need to “Keep this going” any longer. It’s been as simple as telling myself, the dishes left in the sink will be okay left there to clean in the morning…..to…..laying down friendships that are one sided and not worth all the emotion put into them. It’s fighting sleep thinking: about the piles of office work on my desk….and….spending all day holding a sick child and getting none of it done!

Life is a boatload of responsibilities and the way I am learning how to walk out shouldering them is to not let the effect of them weigh me down. Instead, I am learning to carry only the responsibilities that I can find positive outcomes in. The past 6 months have been such a heart opening experience! Watching the faithfulness of God come without even answering the natural prayer. How is that? Well, it can happen.

It does not mean that you don’t still feel overwhelmed and under-appreciated at times. It simply means you cast your cares on the Lord and he sustains the righteous. Sustains……sustains. Keeps me going . Keeps me feeling supported, held, able to bear it. (dictionary meanings) For Freedoms Sake. For the sake of the way I feel with the weight off me even while still having to walk out all the responsibilities is liberating.

Literally, liberating."

"Hungry, I come to You for I know You satisfy,
I am empty, but I know Your love does not run dry,
so I wait for You, yes I wait for You...."
~Kathryn Scott~

Vintage Photoshoot~~sneak peek!!

OH MY GOODNESS~~~~
today was a DREAM!!


Remember that little giveaway I WON a few weeks ago??
Well, today was the PHOTOSHOOT and boy was it F-U-N!!!!

My friend Jena came to help me get *ready*.

I DID MY HAIR IN CURLERS and it was only 9am!!

I LISTENED TO RAY CHARLES ALL MORNING LONG!

I PAINTED MY FINGERNAILS BRIGHT RED!

I GOT READY WITHOUT ANY LITTLE CHILDREN AROUND ME!!

(that alone was a treat)!!

Here's a sneak peek.....JUST WAIT til you see the rest!!!!

JOLYN IS AMAZING!! So laid back and easy to work with!
She set me right at ease and just did her thing while I fiddled around in my favorite room WITH ALL MY FAVORITE THINGS!

DID I MENTION HOW MUCH FUN I HAD!!!!???

THANK YOU JOLYN FOR THE SPECIAL DAY!!!!

I felt so.............YOUNG!!!!!!!!

"Wherever you go,
go with all your heart."
~Confucius

Facebook page

It's almost midnight and my toes are cold.

Should have started a fire tonight, but the sun warmed our plaster walls today and it hasn't felt too bad around here.....until now.

Just testing out something different tonight~~~I put together a facebook page for
Three Men and Their Ladies. Basically, it's going to be a glimpse into the

little things in life....the little sayings, the little doings, the little quotes, the little Little's.

You'll see it on the right if you scroll down a bit.

Good night all.....don't let the bed bugs bite....ugh, I can hardly say that anymore because there really ARE bed bugs all over the place! (NOT here, but I've been reading about them) gross!

"And if tonight my soul may find her peace in sleep,
and sink in good oblivion,
and in the morning wake like a new-opened flower
then I have been dipped again in God, and new-created."
~D.H. Lawrence

Making Applesauce

I DID IT, MY FIRST YEAR MAKING APPLESAUCE WITHOUT MY MOM'S HELP!!!

I have the "youngest-of-8 children" syndrome in which I feel I can do no *difficult* thing without my Mother. And by difficult, I mean canning. To me, she is the MASTER, she doesn't have any instruction book she follows, she effortlessly flows from one task to the next until she has 200 quarts of applesauce sitting before her. I'm just along for the ride. Seriously.

But I decided I better grow up and this was the year I did.

Now, mind you, my two Amish nieces VOLUNTEERED to join me....or shall I say, rescued me.

It's a main point that they are Amish because they've been making applesauce/canning since they could use a knife, which was probably age 5. They instinctively know what they're doing.

I didn't even know how to cut the apple up without wasting 1/2 of it.

They kindly showed me.

And I watched carefully.

They came into my kitchen and told me what to do.

And I enjoyed every minute of it....THANK YOU ANNIE & BETTY, YOU WERE A BLAST to work alongside, you helped me learn a new thing today and gave me the confidence to do it! And you gave of your time and energy to stock OUR pantry....BLESS YOUR HEARTS!!!

Until next year.....

"The true meaning of life is to plant trees,
under whose shade you do not expect to sit."
~Nelson Henderson~

THE WINNER......

THANKS TO EVERYONE
who entered our 500th giveaway!!!

It was fun for me to put together and anyone that knows me knows I like me some fun!
In an awesome, wealthy world I would have sent EACH ONE of you this prize...I wanted to.

Every time someone else would enter, "oooh, I hope they win, that would be so sweet!" I would think.....especially when I could picture your homes and your children all snuggled in that cozy blanket! But alas, there can be only one!!

So here's how the winner was chosen:
random.org. I used "true random number generator."
entered number 1-84.

RANDOM NUMBER 62 WAS PICKED....

and the 62nd comment was from:

TERRI over at Consume Me from the Inside Out!!!
She also use to have a darling little store in town THAT IS MISSED SO MUCH called "Lulu and Tutz"!!

She lives HERE~~~

before I knew the person who lived here I did a post about this DREAM COTTAGE, because I would drive by it so often....just to find out it was Terri's parent's house!!!
SMALL LITTLE WORLD!!! Her parents have sinced downsized so her childhood home is now her adult home! So sweet!!!

SOOOO HAPPY FOR YOUR TERRI~~~
I'll deliver it to your home later this week!!!
(or if you drive by and see my car, just stop on in)!!!!

"Winter is the time for comfort,
for good food and warmth,
for the touch of a friendly hand
and for a talk beside the fire:
it is the time for home."

~Edith Sitwell~

social media addiction

I've been spending too much time on here.

It's been on my mind a lot lately, especially since our delicious and relaxing time away at the cabin last weekend....with no social media within reach,
(well it was in reach via my nephews iPhone and I checked in once and was disappointed in myself for even doing that).

I don't want this computer to be an idol.

A part of the definition of idol is~~~
"one that is adored, often blindly or excessively."

I want to "GUARD MY HEART ABOVE ALL ELSE FOR IT IS THE

WELLSPRING OF LIFE", (Proverbs 4:23)


TRUE LIFE is not found on here or anywhere else on this earth,

IT IS FOUND IN THE SECRET PLACES OF MY HEART...your heart!!!!!!!

So, later today I'm going to go buy a timer to set by my computer.
And when my time is up, then the computer goes off.
It's SO EASY for hours......HOURS to pass without realizing it.

Apparently my time doesn't mean much to me
because I've been handing it out for free for way too long!!!

If you'd like to read a beautiful article about this, a convicting one to be sure, you can click here. I would really encourage you to take the time to read it.

Here's a sample:

"I think that many young women become addicted to social media and neglect their families and children out of a God given desire to be loved, to have friends who care, to feel a sense of importance–to push away the feeling that we are invisible in this world of ours. The desire to be loved and known and validated is God-given. Yet, He intended for us to have real community where we are loved and have a place to fit with family–cousins, grandparents, parents, siblings."

"He slept a summer by my side,
he filled my days with endless wonder,

he took my childhood in his stride,

but he was gone when autumn came. "

~"I dreamed a dream", Les Miserable~

{{{500th POST GIVEAWAY}}}

~~THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED~~

It's hard to believe I started blogging about 3 years ago.

and it's even harder to believe
THIS
IS
MY
500th
POST....

(man, I *talk* alot....AND YOU READ ALOT)!!!!

It has become one of my favorite hobbies blending some of the things that are most special to me; writing, pictures, creativity, music, people, inner thoughts,
and THE CELEBRATION OF LIFE.....

all in one place!!!

SO TO CELEBRATE,
maybe YOU

could make some of this~~~

or perhaps some of this if you prefer~~~








pour it into this darling teacup~~~

with a few of these~~~

and a couple of these~~~

cozy up in this beautiful, huge cable knit blanket~~~

and read this inspiring magazine~~~

LEAVE A COMMENT,
any comment, (just be nice)
to be entered to win this cozy giveaway,
(if you become a NEW *follower* or share this post you can enter a second time)!!

THE WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED
ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 8TH

so check back then!!!!

"The best things in life are FREE!"

12 miles to Freedom.

I met a woman today that just saw her Mother for the first time in almost 2 years.

They live 12 miles from one another.

The decisions she and her husband have made to leave the Amish culture
has resulted in pain and rejection that many of us will never know.

I saw strength & courage in her eyes and heard the hurt in her voice, still thick with accent.

I don't understand it and yet it surrounds me.

This heritage that flows through my veins and has made me who I am today.


There is SO MUCH BEAUTY in it and yet there is a darkness that hides just below waiting to smother you or abandon you the minute you step out of line, out of tradition into a new longing for freedom.

I won't pretend to know what I'm talking about. All I know is what I see and what I journey through with those around me, those hurting souls that are in my circle of influence. Those men and women taking THE LEAP OF THEIR LIFE into the unknown.

New wardrobes.
New shoes.
New hair dos.

the basic items of identity are TRANSFORMED, can you even imagine the hidden places of the heart and mind that can't be seen by others? The SUPERNATURAL TRANSFORMATION that needs, (and will) take place right inside there? THE SOUL FREEDOM that takes years, possibly even a lifetime to sink in?

MARINATE IN FREEDOM AND WATCH WHAT HAPPENS!!!

To any of "you" that may be reading this, to those of you that are in this place right now, (or have come out the other side) this DECISION MAKING TIME of turning your lives upside down and changing everything you've ever known.....I admire you more then words can even express.

There are moments when my personal desire for a deeper freedom is so intense and I'm not even dealing with the *superficial* aspects of it all.

Selling my horse and carriage for a car.
Teaching my children to speak English, (and not Dutch) when they are spoken to.
Contemplating the reactions of those around you that you love the most, your very Father and Mother.

You have COURAGE I will never know.

MAY ALL YOUR DESIRES FOR A NEW FOUND FREEDOM BE FOUND & CELEBRATED!!!

YOU

ARE

NOT

ALONE.

Dear Lord, let Your nearness be evident!!!

"He sent from above, He took me, He drew me out of MANY WATERS. He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me. They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD WAS MY STAY. He brought me forth also INTO A LARGE PLACE; He delivered me, BECAUSE HE DELIGHTED IN ME."
Psalm 18: 16-19

*song by Misty Edwards~~singing Isaiah 49*

1950's

WOW!! First of all, thanks to everyone who took the time to leave a little comment on Fridays post.....it's so interesting reading about who YOU are, (and I wasn't expecting all the kind words about this blog, so thanks for that TOO)!! Also, I've got some great new ideas of songs to download onto my ipod....thanks for sharing your favorite songs with all of us!!!!

So, a couple weeks ago I entered a contest here. Just one of those things you do on a whim, never thinking you'll actually win!!!! But, ALAS~~~I was the winner!!!!

Part of entering was sending the photographer a favorite picture of yourself, just YOU....and you won't believe it, (as much as we love to take pics around here)....I couldn't find a picture of JUST MYSELF that I liked, (they were all with Jake or with the children, or both).

THE PRIZE for this giveaway was a photoshoot with JUST YOURSELF and YOU have to come up with an outfit, a location and any props for the photoshoot.

Do you want to know my ideas?

I'm in my vintage kitchen on a beautiful sunny day,

with my favorite apron on and my big ol' mixing bowl in hand, vintage looking containers strewn about, or maybe I'm putting on a record on my new little record player or reading an old vintage magazine while drinking a cup of coffee at my kitchen table, then my vintage phone rings and I'm talking to my friend....
all the while, I'm wearing something like this~~~

or perhaps this beauty??

OOOOR, maybe this one.....

and I have on a string of pearls and high heels

and my hair looks like this....

and my lips look like these....

I don't know....maybe this is all a perfectly good waste of a perfectly good prize!!?? Maybe I should just be *practical* and not play dress up or pretend I'm something I'm not......

WHAT DO YOU THINK??

If you were in my black heels what would you do?

Remember, I get to pick~~~

1.)wardrobe.
2.) location.
3.) props.

"She glances at the photo,
and the pilot light of memory flickers in her eyes."
~Frank Deford~