THAT'S WHAT BROTHERS ARE FOR...

Got some engagement pictures from our wedding photographer...she did a great job capturing some sweet moments!

 I may have not told you this, but her fiancee MADE her ring!

So you're probably wondering what this post has to do with her brothers?

Brothers are for taking perfectly good photographs and...

THE BEST SMELL EVER...

is this Holiday Scent!  I received this as a hostess gift last year, and loved it!  When my daughter's wedding shower time came, we wanted to do this for our hostesses too.  But be warned:  everyone in the house will come asking what you are cooking that smells so good!!

Holiday Scent

Quarter an orange, lime, and lemon.

Place in a medium saucepan and cover with water.

Add a few cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, and bay leaves.

Simmer and let the scent fill the air!

(Add water as needed - lasts about 10 days)

I didn't take a picture but we put tags on each one with the instructions for using it.

Mmmmmm....had to make an extra for myself!

PEOPLE ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN THINGS...

I learned this lesson long ago but sometimes I still need to be reminded!  I vividly remember being in the church nursery and hearing one of the nursery nanas saying that in her conversation.  I thought that was so wise and had never heard it put so simply.  But it's so true and has come to my mind time and time again.  This week I got the chance to get away from wedding preparations to meet my great-niece from Texas for the first time, so I took advantage of it.

I had a lot more pictures than this - forgot how many it takes to get a good one!  

But aren't these cousins CUTE???

SHOWER TIME...

Sunday was a big day for us - my daughter and her fiancee were given a wedding shower from the church!  The parlor was beautifully decorated with her green and gold colors and they were blessed with a lot of things to get them started in their life together!  So thankful for sweet friends and sisters in Christ willing to do this for us!

Our hostesses!

 Thankful speech

 Hot cider

Guest sign-in

 A monogrammed cutting board!

 This little one made her a colorful bracelet!

 Le Creuset!  She's excited!

His/Hers aprons!

 Embroidered pillow cases from one of our oldest members! Sweet.

Picnic basket from family members with a hand-made quilt! 

I put all her special Christmas ornaments through the years in a large vase. 

(I admit a few of them are staying at home on my tree!)

Not much room left for the bride!

Sorry about all the !!!!!  It's an exciting time!

TASTE OF HEAVEN...

Thanksgiving this year...some hymn singing, some card playing,some baby holding, some delicious food, wonderful weather, and of course some pumpkin smashing!  Doesn't get much better than this!

BEST BLACK FRIDAY DEAL...

If you're like me and get to enjoy somebody else's cooking for the holiday, take advantage of that and make that special person a calendar!

Now thru Friday, you can get a free 8 x 10 calendar on Shutterfly!  I made mine today.  All you pay is shipping ($6) with this code:  FREECAL

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

GETTIN CRAFTY...

 Lots of fun things  happening this past week!  We had our annual Sweets & Service project for the ladies at church.  This year we changed it up a little, and the things we collected and made are going to benefit the teachers of a local school that has a lot of low income students.  We felt like these teachers probably need a token of appreciation more than some of the other schools. They will each receive a Sonic gift card, along with some other goodies!

One of the crafts we made were gift tags that the teachers can use for their personal gift giving.  I had seen lots of fancy ones and ideas on Pinterest, so we bought a craft punch, some card stock, Christmas stamps and other misc. items, and came up with some fun tags.

I love to see the cool ideas people come up with when handed a bunch of miscellaneous art materials!  It's also great to see the little girls enjoying creating with their mothers.  :)

I also went to the last luncheon for my Bible study of the year, and I helped my friend decorate.  Her theme was "The Bread of Life," and she used bread making utensils, wheat, and fall decorations, along with real loaves of bread and butter for each table.  She always surprises me with her ideas!

Speaking of tables, the gold and white table is what I've come up with so far for wedding reception tables.  I spray painted the styrofoam ball wreath gold (the wedding accent color) and I like it okay.  I would love for it to be more unique but at this point I'm pretty tired of scouring Pinterest and the sale tables at the stores.  So if you have any awesome ideas, send them my way.  As long as they are beautiful, cheap, and portable...