I'm Playing With Dolls Again

All I ever dreamed of being was a mommy.

Well, as I got older, maybe I wanted to teach.

That too was just the child calling to me!

I played with dolls until I was 12. 

I didn't let my friends see me!

That would not have been cool.

I did the Barbie and Ken-thing after I was 12.

Thus, my love for dolls continues.

My friend bought two old trunks.

Guess what was in one?

Vintage baby clothes and blankets.

Darling?

"...the cow jumped over the moon."

My daughter and son in law gave me an iron and ironing board 

cover for Christmas.  Yes, I asked for it! 

I washed and dried the pretties and then pressed them.
I soaked in Oxy Clean over night and washed two times
and some were still yellow.

A dress and matching slip that can be worn as a dress.

I knew the owner and she had boys.

I'm guessing the blue was for her boys.

Some of them were "Handmade in the Philippians."

The one with the pink bow is homemade and so adorable!

The buttons and button holes are so small.

I guess this worked for skinny, young mothers.

Me, I could hardly get the button in the hole.

When my Christy was almost 2, 

my granny gave her the doll that her son 

brought back from Germany after WWII. 

It's probably 75 years old.

She made the dress and the bloomers underneath.

My girls will be playing with their GREAT, GREAT Grandmother's doll.

Isn't that special?

Her eyes blink, she has a cloth body and rubber arms,

She cries when I squeeze them.

She feels like a real baby.

I decided that she needed a change of clothes

after 75 years. 

Don't we all count fingers and toes when our babies are born?

I like to kiss a baby's feet!

(Please pardon mine!)

Yes, fingers too!

Here are the newborn photos of my little blessings. 

I can play dolls again.

Waiting to do so.  Come on Feb 12!

Maybe we'll get to build a snowman!

Don't you just love the movie "FROZEN."

Take the Brokenness and Give Thanks

I'm daily filling the JOY JAR.

Small papers are sometimes dropped more than once a day.

Thanksgiving breeds JOY.

One, two and more and I am joy-filled.

I've been reading the book by Ann Voskamp,

One Thousand Gifts.

One thought that presents itself over and over is 

to take the pain that is given and give thanks. 

Jesus knowing the cross was before HIM, 

took the bread, broke it and gave thanks.

And I remembered...

Palm Sunday, March 23, 1975,

a broken body and broken hearts.

Cries of a dying little boy and tears and gasps of a family who waits. 

A few days later,

Baby brother, baby boy is gone.

In a hospital room, a mama takes the bread of brokenness and gives thanks.

Pain nonetheless, but thanksgiving for a Christ who was willing to take our pain to the cross.

Breaking bread and giving thanks.

In the Bible, thanksgiving always proceeded a miracle.

Mama's miracle, a vision of baby boy walking with Jesus along the crystal sea,

all because she broke a saltine cracker and drank the grape juice.

Fast forward one week, 

the night before Easter.

Like the disciples, we huddle together and grieve.

With a broken heart, Daddy takes the broken bread and gives thanks.

Maybe not yet for his own brokenness, but in Christ 

for being broken that we may know wholeness.

A baby brother, a baby boy is gone.

A Preacher-daddy and his now three children,

we take the pain that if given and we give thanks.

Today, I fill a vintage planter with kisses.

and they spill everywhere!

My first thought is to utter, "Ugggh."

(Maybe I did, on second thought.)

And then I remembered, 

Jesus, broken and spilled out

after He had given thanks.

The miracle?

The Ressurection.

Everytime I walk by the candy-filled planter, 

I will pause and give thanks. 

Because He lives, we may live also.

Baking Cookies With My Boy

If you follow me much, 

you know that I am no Susie Homemaker.

I like to move things around,

make rooms pretty,  

but keep me out of the kitchen.

I can mess up the easiest dish.

Even refrigerated chocolate chip cookies. 

Instruction:

1.  Open the package.

2. Cut the refrigerated

dough.

3.  Roll into little balls. Let Connor man think he's really making cookies.

4.  Shhhh.  Take a bite of cookie dough.

5.  Yes, you can have another one. 

Don't tell mommy, okay?

Our secret.  HeeHeeHee

6.  Bake (not done)

7.  Bake again (burnt)

Ok, ok. Now you know.

Baking sheet $0  

Refrigerated dough-$2

Time with my little man- Priceless!

Hometown Airstrip with the Boys

I counted a total of 4 weeks in December and January 

that I was able to spend with my children. 

I think that's the most we've been together since 

my nest became empty in 2003.

In my small town, we have a very small airstrip.

Connor is a Dusty fan so he's all about planes. 

I can't begin to tell you what joy it was
 to see the awe on his little face.

No one was standing by for take off so

we took the liberty to walk around.

This was his first look into a real plane.

He wanted to get in so badly.

He called this one, "Dusty."

It was freezing and raining so it wasn't long
before we headed back inside.

I just love this picture, Connor holding hands with his Grandy.

Three boys together, a Kodak moment!

Inside he found a book of Dustys.

Of course, Grandy had lots of stories to tell 

about where his daddy grew up.

I opened the door to his house last week 

and the first thing he asked was, 

"Where's Grandy? Can we see the planes?"

Grandy enjoyed his first little girl while they were home.

Now, he's ready to hold his newest little girl.

She was in the NICU the last time he saw her.

I asked him when he was ready to go.

He said, "Now!"

This is our most recent picture.
I can't believe how much she's changed.

Happy Thursday!

I think I heard the prediction of snow in tomorrow's forecast.

Maybe a Little Rant

This is not a rant, I promise!

Well, I guess it may be

a little rant

in a nice way.

I like to read different blogs.

I admit to having a connection with some

more than others.

I think that's only natural.

There are some really great blogs out there 

with 1000+ followers and I love to read them.

There are the published one and those who

use their blogs for income and have 

oodles of comments to one post.

I certainly don't begrudge that.  

That's wonderful!

Although that is not what my blog is about.

Okay, I don't know how to make a long story short

but I'll get to my point.

When I'm reading the blogs that have lots of ads, 

it takes forever for the posts to come up.

The little circle thingy goes round and round

and I finally give up and go on to the next blog.

I probably miss some really great ideas because of this. 

Is there an answer?

If it's something on my end, please let me know.

If there's not, well

life is just too short, not to BE HAPPY!

And these little one sure make me smile.

So, I'm not gonna spend much energy fretting over it.

Just wondering.

Be happy and tell me what you really think.

Nothing can steal my joy.

A Clean Slate

All the Christmas decorations are down.

Actually, when I got home the tree was gone.

Well, sort of, but not really.

It was in the corner of the guest bedroom,

leaning against the wall. 

Mr. H really does try.

Time to put it all away and start again.

Don't you love a clean slate?

Put away the old, bring in the new. 

In my case, it's usually put away the new, 

bring in the old.

I like the elegant among the rust

and the old among the new.

My son and DIL gave me the new birdcage.  

I've already found a home for it.

This got me to thinking.

Sometimes it's good to start over.

Sometimes it's good to purge, just get rid of all the junk.

Kinda like a detox, it's good to just get it all out:)

Yelp, that too.

Been thinking about that today and my need

 to let God just come in and get rid of all the crud, 

all the mess that doesn't need to be in my heart.

You know, give me a clean slate. 

That's what's so great about a new year.

To me, it's a new beginning.

My prayer today, 

"Lord, help me to see through the holes.  Through the torn.

Let me catch a glimpse of you and that you will bring grace

and glory through my broken and unfulfilled dreams.

Help me to see that you wipe the slate clean 

and you give new vision.

Thank you for new beginnings, a clean slate to start again.

When all is not perfect, allow me to see beauty among the rust

and wholeness in the brokenness."

Thank you again, Lord for a clean slate,

My JOY Jar

JOY is just popping up everywhere-

literally and figuratively.

Someone invited me to prayer time yesterday.

You know how we women are.

I am the I-don't-meet-a-stranger kinda woman.

I can enter in most any conversation,

but in certain "Christian" women groups, 

well, let's just say, I pull back.

Especially when the group is already established

and I am the outsider. 

I know, I know, there are no outsiders in Christ, 

you understand what I mean. 

If you don't, don't judge me.

You may find yourself there at some time or another. 

Annnnnyway.

I give reasons as to why I don't think I can stay.

Blah, blah, blah.

And my friend says, 

"Oh, you are just letting the devil defeat you."

With some people I have nerve enough to be myself

and I say, "Really???"

I go on to insist that I pray and it has nothing to do with the devil.

Really???

Another person invites me,

a not-so-close friend.

Eeeek.  

I don't want to go! I can pray just fine by myself!

Nudge, nudge, nudge from the Holy Spirit.

Another eeeek!

Okay, okay, okay.

Around the room, need for prayers expressed.

Bonnie???

Yes????

Okay, okay, I'm getting it, Lord.

I ask for prayer for the spiritual warfare that I have been in for a year.

You know, the kind where you are slandered and your name has been trashed

and your witness has been tarnished by the words of others?

The kind where the Lord said, 

"I will fight for you, you need only to be still."

And you've let Him fight it, but you're tired.  Really tired.

You want it to stop and it only gets worse.

A very godly lady whom I have the utmost confidence in asks me, 

"Have you lost your joy?"

What??? Where in the world did that come from???

Lost my JOY?

I said, "No, I have joy.  I'm just now getting it back."

"Really?" the Lord is whispering now.

Really?

The rest of the story will have to wait.

So, I've made myself a JOY jar.

I'm asking God to give me JOY in every circumstance, 

when I'm torn down or lifted up, 

when I'm accepted and when I feel rejected, 

when I laugh and when I cry, 

when I have faith and when I'm in fear.

Lord, help me to choose JOY.

Harper's Dreamland

Yeah, I'm still stuck in Babyland-

mentally, that is.

 

 

The nursery is now complete.

I thought I'd share Harper's dreamland.

 

 

Harper's daddy did an awesome job of getting the room ready in time for her arrival home.

The frames in the wall collage and the changing table

were painted with Southern Honey Chawk Paint.

 

A pencil art of the sea, a framed photo

of the fortune cookie that read, "It's a Girl,"

and a mirror reflecting the bed make up the collage.

 

 

The "H" was made by my daughter in law

and used at Christy's baby shower.

 

A photo of Harper will go in the other aqua frame.

 

 

This is my favorite wall because the shelves are lined with books.

When Harper's mom was just a tiny tot, I could read 20 books

at a time and she never wanted me to stop.

She was saying nursery rhymes by the time she was 18 months old.

 

 

The room's color and theme was actually inspired

by the wall hanging of the cranes.

The art is hand made and was purchased from a vendor at

the Nashville Flea Market.

 

 

Another framed print of her name hangs over the crib.

 

 

Aunt Tina had the rabbit made especially for Harper's room.

 

 

 

All these pretties, but guess who's the prettiest of them all.

 

 

 No, not you, Charlie. (He wanted to dress up too!)

I must say he IS cute, jealous yet protective.

He has a verocious growl when strangers come near.

He will probably be her best friend.

 

Thanks for visiting. 

Hope you'll return again soon.