September 16th....A Very Special Day....

Good Morning ladies....I'm thinking your figuring out from the picture above what today is...YES...It is my Wedding Anniversary my husband and I said our "I Do's" 16 years ago today...if you indulge me for a minute I will share our love story with you...In 1994 my mom ...my daughter and I moved from California to Virginia to be with my sister who had moved in 93'. My daughter and I were on our own for 8 years after her dad left....I never dated ....my ex was involved with another woman ...sadly... my daughter had to "make friends" with the reality of this new situation..it made perfect sense for me to be about the business of taking care of her...loving her...and raising her with NO STRANGE MEN in her life EVER...so for the years we lived in Cali I was happy to work....create...and be my daughter's momma...right before we made the decision to move..... my sister was settled in her new home in Virginia it was the end of 1993...she called me one day after church ...her first words were "Karena guess what.." I asked "what"...her answer was..."I just met my future brother-in-law"....I cracked up ...she said it with such conviction ....I said .."Oh really"...she began to tell me about a man she had met at church....she said he was a single dad...alone for 7 years...he had a 10 year old daughter...he was super nice....AND...he was a good hugger.....I laughed ...one year later we made the move to the East Coast...but during that time my sister would call me with "updates" of this gentleman...when we arrived in Virginia my brother-in-law and sister must have introduced this man to me at least 9 times to the point of embarrassment...even the church was in on getting us to meet ...one Sunday the pastor asked my sweetie and I to count the collection at the end of service....that was the beginning of our relationship. He asked me out on Memorial Day Weekend ...our first date was with my WHOLE  family...all 8 of us with he and his daughter....(I needed the support)....I have to share a really special part of this story...2 years before we met ...when we were still in California ....we were all at my sisters for dinner....I was extremely quiet as we sat in her kitchen..she was stirring spaghetti sauce...she looked over at me ...she asked "Sister whats bothering you"...I burst into tears..."how long does the Lord want me to be alone...won't I ever meet anyone for me....to love me just the way I am..." she wiped her hands...turned the sauce down walked towards me and said "come with me."..she headed up stairs where she grabbed a pen and paper...I sat on the bed she sat on the floor as she said "okay you tell me everything you want in a husband EVERYTHING..don't leave anything out...I'll write it all down" ....so I started a list...it wasn't too long but long enough...after I was done...she asked me "is that everything" ...then she read it all back to me....she said "OKAY...I am going to save this in this antique olive oil can ...when the Lord brings this man into your life and you get engaged....we will open it...and read it together..." I said Okay let me pray over it ...I want to write something on it...I wrote....."Jesus I believe in your timing...your will....please honor this....you PROMISED"....When my sweetie proposed we went straight back to my sisters to grab that can....I wanted to read it with him ...my sister and brother-in-law sat down with us as we read it....we all cried ....each quality we wrote down described my future husband..when he was done reading...he looked over at me with tears in his eyes...."sweetie did you see the date on this ....I said no I haven't read it since we wrote it....he said the date is exactly 2 years to the day before we met"....I had totally forgotten that we wrote it on Memorial Day Weekend 1992....all I new then....and know now is that our God is FAITHFUL....the groaning of my soul was for a season...I needed to sort things out...have alone time to step into myself....in God's wisdom he knew the EXACT moment he would bring my sweetie and I together...to this day having this man to love...being loved by him...is nothing short of a MIRACLE....I never take it for granted....

We were engaged in July...married 2 months later...we honey mooned in Williamsburg

Nag's Head

then we made our way to Nags Head North Carolina

thank you for allowing me to reminisce girls....have a fabulous Friday...blessings and hugs to you...Karena

Tick Tock...Tick Tock...I Hear the Christmas Clock.....

Wow....we are 100 days away from celebrating the most Joyful time on earth....Christmas is around the corner girls...aren't you excited...I am...this time of year makes my heart sing...even though things in the world have been harder these last couple of years then any time in my memory...loss of jobs (I know I'm still hunting)...foreclosures...nature's been complicated too with earth quakes ...hurricanes....fires....drought.....on my knees is where I've been lately....asking our Heavenly Father to intercede on our behalf....bring rain where it's needed hold back rain where it will do too much damage...quiet the earth...but most of all I've been praising him for the faithful blessings he's brought me....health...a loving family...new opportunity's with my faces and time to enjoy them now that we are living closer to one another....

I am so thankful for the cozy roof he has given us ....we've fallen in love with our house ....laughed in her ....dressed her up...learned all the things that are a bit "QUIRKY" about her....even had our first Christmas in her last year...

This is our tree....it's the biggest I've ever had in my whole life....let me tell you ...I smiled from the day we bought her to the moment we had to take it down....I wasn't even sad taking all the decorations down....it was so beautiful ....the joy of it spilled over so much all I could do was look forward to this year....

Thinking of snow....shopping for a new tree...time with family...and this year the joy of blogging all about it ....I am such a "little girl" about the Holiday's....so for me I "NEED A LITTLE  CHRISTMAS"  today....I hope you have a tip top Thursday girls...Oh get this ...today is going to edge towards 90 degrees....TOMORROW .....(drum roll please)....will drop over 20 degrees into the low 70's.....HELLO FALL......boy will I be glad to see you.....on that note I wish you all blessings and hugs....and some of our cool weather.....bye for now.......Karena

His name is Cam...I Call Him Friend.....

Hey there girls.....I am excited to introduce you to a very special friend of mine...his name his Cam Waff..when we were living in North Carolina his mom had the store next to mine....Cam was fresh out of high school back then so he had time to visit his mom ...then he would stop by our store and browse...as we got familiar with each other he shared with me he loved to paint....it wasn't long before I saw some of his work in an Art store in town....AMAZING....UNIQUE....COLORFUL .... MASTERPIECE'S...Cam has his own "VISION"...when he picks up his paint brush...something amazing is born....I contacted him recently to get his permission to do this post....the first picture I am going to show you is framed because it is a painting he gave me personally a few years ago....I cherish it....here are some of the fabulous works Cam has done:

Aren't they wonderful....I am floored by them...I hope you enjoyed looking at this art work girls...I hope you all have a wonderful day...I am including Cam's blog in case you'd like to look at more of his work...    http://camwaffart.blogspot.com/         I am still having some computer issues ...Verizon was here this morning ....they finally discovered I have a bad Modum...if you don't hear from me for a couple of days it's because I can't get online.....they are mailing a new one to arrive by Friday....So keeping my fingers crossed that we stay connected ....big hugs .......Karena                          

I Have a Confession to Make......

I have a complete addiction to "PILLOWS" if I see one with beautiful flowers or hand stitching or red checks or .....you get the idea If I see ANY pillow that strikes me it's instantly on....I have to fight with myself with self talk like "Karena are you kidding you don't NEED another pillow"....or "Where will you put it"...etc.....here's the thing ...even though I DO fight with myself ..most times I lose ...picking up the treasure before me bonding with it like a new puppy...I almost always bring it home to add to my collection....

I have given this much thought recently...here's what I've come up with...the purchase of a new pillow for me is the equivalent of buying a "New Tube of Lipstick" used to be when I was younger....it is ALWAYS a mood lifter...in instant burst of creative rush wondering...where to put it....is it an outdoor treasure or an inside sitter....which room....paired with which friends...shabby chic or fall like....floral .... hand stitched or embroidered...

The other thing I think about is how much I love my faces around me....my favorite thing about living is sharing my day to day journey with the favorite faces I am blessed to share my life with...."SITTIN" places are key to that experience ...then my intention is always to create a soft place for them to fall......a place inside or out that seems like it was created just for them....AND so comfortable they have to fight the urge to ever get up and leave....

When I started down that trail of thinking the passion for pillow's started to make a lot of sense to me...

I look forward to my ....Fall pillows....(which I haven't gotten out quite yet) my Christmas ....Spring....Summer...and so it goes pillows fit me ...in my life for all the seasons ....not just mother nature's seasons either ....but the seasons I LIVE through...the natural ebb and flow of my journey...when I was raising my daughter she would plump the pillows next to my hip...so she could prop her head on them to watch TV  with me nesting herself CLOSE so I could give her goosebumps....or laying my head on my favorite pillow after her dad left and my heart was breaking....(that pillow almost didn't survive)....or the pillows I found after I met dated...married ...my sweetie ...we began creating a blended family ...a new home for all of us to love in.....or the rippin time when we moved into..... "The Girls are All Grown Up"....season

No....I think my passion for pillows is completely understandable...

Out of a couple perfectly chosen pieces of fabric...some buttons...ruffles...or ribbon a new friend is created to comfort...befriend....soften ..... even help heal the sometimes STORMY SEASONS of life..that's an addiction I can live with...thanks for stopping by girls......I wish a comfy pillow for you all today....blessings and big hugs.........Karena

I DREAM OF A GET AWAY.....

Good Monday Morning girls ....how are you all this beautiful day....It looks like  a day full of sunshine  for me today...I'm okay with that because I can feel my friend FALL peeking in through the window ...the evening temperature's are dropping every night and the leaves on our trees are beginning to turn color ever so slightly ....so I don't mind a few more days in the 80's...I had a nice weekend did you...we went and visited my sister for dinner Saturday night...during the day we went to some yard sales one of them was small but the things they had were totally me....totally inexpensive...and the lady's running it were adorable....I will share some pictures tomorrow....for today my sweetie is home he's playing the piano as I write this....I AM THINKING about getting in the car packing some food to nibble on while we drive to the mountains with our kids....this time of year ALWAYS brings me a bit of the wanderlust for fields of "Bittersweet"...The smell of fireplaces burning....  picking apples and leaves crunching under my feet...in Virginia that means miles of farm land on our way up to the Shenandoah mountains...I hope we can make some plans soon to make this dream of mine a reality....for now I will leave you with some pictures you might enjoy......blessings and hugs to you.......Karena