" A Saturday with my Fam".....

Today we are going to spend the day with my sister and great niece....I am 22 months older then my beautiful little sister....our angel of a great niece is 4 years old....Not sure exactly what "FUN" we will go create but it will be something good. These flowers make me happy just to look at them......they are since long gone.....but isn't it neat to have pictures that freeze everything we value forever .........I hope you  have a blissful Saturday....blessings to you all.....Karena

Knowing the Lord Cares

Happy Friday Morning Girls.......I have been spending time talking to Jesus this morning...I was up early to take my daughter to the airport...so it was a good time to be still.........appreciate the sunrise......and spend time talking to my Lord. I was given this wonderful book "The Red Sea Rules" by a sister in the Lord....an amazing friend named Katie last year at this time when I was going through a "Caught between the mountains and deep red sea" moment of my own. Katie called to tell me she had a book the Lord had put on her heart to give me...she dropped it off one morning when I was out. When I came home to find her gift I sat down to look it over...One of the first lines that jumped out at me was..........."Realize that God Means for you to be WHERE YOU ARE"..I don't know about you.....but when I'm faced with hard moments in my life it never acures to me to think the Lord wants me in that moment......that even in the midst of pain...a bleeding soul.......a confused spirit....the Lord could MEAN for me to be there for HIS GLORY. ...As I got serious about reading this book more of God's plan for healing became POWERFUL AH-UH MOMENTS.......like tools in a spiritual tool box...I plowed through the chapters ....the "10 RED SEA RULES"...... the key point being...THE SAME GOD THAT LED YOU IN WILL LEAD YOU OUT

I believe our Lord cares about every tear......every broken dream....every groan of our soul in ways we can't begin to understand....if you have things going on in your life that are so big.....so hard ...you just can't understand what to do or where to turn....think on these
tools from the Red Sea Rules:

1. REALIZE THAT GOD MEANS FOR YOU TO BE WHERE YOU ARE
2. BE MORE CONCERNED FOR GOD'S GLORY THEN FOR YOUR RELIEF
3. ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR ENEMY , BUT KEEP YOU EYES ON THE LORD
4. PRAY
5. STAY CALM AND CONFIDENT AND GIVE GOD TIME TO WORK
6. WHEN UNSURE, JUST TAKE THE NEXT LOGICAL STEP BY FAITH
7. ENVISION GOD'S ENVELOPING PRESENCE
8. TRUST GOD TO DELIVER IN HIS OWN UNIQUE WAY
9. VIEW YOU CURRENT CRISIS AS A FAITH BUILDER FOR YOUR FUTURE
10. DON'T FORGET TO PRAISE HIM

Robert Morgan wrote Red Sea Rules 10 years ago....in 2001...but the tools these rules bring to light are still blessing....and healing...and changing lives....why ?......because the same Lord that gave Robert this book......finds way's to bring the book to us.......what a loving God we serve.....I thank you so much for indulging this rather lengthy post...I just know when God calls me to share something I have to obey! Bless you today girls.........Karena

Is it Thursday Already ?

 

I can't believe how fast this week has gone by...did it seem fast to you too? Well I've been working in the garden a lot this week.....weeding.......watering......moving things around. The picture I included at the top of this post is of my very first successful "COSMOS" plant....I planted some from seeds at the beginning of spring....then found a starter plant that my sister-in -law bought us when she was here in May. Thanks Nan...I think it's blooming wonderfully ......it is so happy and healthy ....it makes me smile every time I walk out to the garden. The second picture is of a cabbage rose wallpaper. I love cabbage roses...I also love vintage wallpaper...don't you....my favorite time for all things shabby and vintage is definitely 1928 through 1943.  Why you ask ? well I think it's because I grew up watching old movies on TV.... Most of them were from those time periods. All those old wonderful films were chuck full of great furniture.....Priscilla curtains with side panels and valances that framed the windows like "eyelashes" on a pretty face......I still love that look for myself....I have all my windows made up with Priscilla's . ...Pictures were always of cabbage roses....faces......and far off places....and the furniture....WOW the furniture was adorable....small over stuffed chairs....sofas...and settees with down filled cushions that just looked SO COMFY....the look still influences me today.....if you've never thought about it try watching one of your favorite old films and pay close attention to the sets...you will be surprised .....I will leave you with one of my favorites.......look up Cary Grant in "MR. BLANDINGS BUILDS HIS DREAM HOUSE".........if you have a hard time finding it Netflix has it to order........toodles girls.....have a  GREAT DAY.........bless you.......Karena

What am I doing wrong......?.

I am having a hard time getting my "COMMENTS"....under my new post back up.... If any of you that use blogger have insight to offer I'd appreciate it.........I want to get this fixed so I don't miss anything you have to say...thank you so much......Karena

Thought you'd like to see

Below are pictures of our newly "ORGANIZED" attic.......I wrote earlier about the cozy cabin in our attic. We have been working like little bee's buzzing through box's ...crates...and trunks to create a space that is warm ...inviting......and COZY.....My sweetie and I stayed up in this space all weekend just hanging out. It was like having a get away in our own house...it is warm here in our neck of the woods but up there the breezes blow....the birds sing....there is even a "special kind of scent"....like Cinnamon and wood...I thought you might enjoy knowing a little bit about the pieces we have up here.. The chairs we have are mix and match so we made them more appealing by slip covering them. The chair on the left in the picture below I covered with drop cloths from Home Depot. It took two 5'x5' and one 6'x9' cloths to cover the chair and the cushion. The ottomans from chairs we have downstairs but can't use are sprinkled around the room in alcoves and one in front of the chairs. Bookcases and cabinets are some that we "married" and others that we just sort of created. My sweetie spent time in Japan years ago and brought back Tea Box's that are covered inside with tin.......we have stacked them to make storage space and display surfaces...Here's the thing about this space...when we first told the FAM  our plans I think they were surprised ....maybe even doubtful that we could do anything with the space that would make sense. We pressed on trying to talk as we worked about what purpose we each had in mind about the space. Both of us agreed we wanted to create something ENCHANTING...you know what ??? We did......this spot is even more then we dreamed about...and our faces (family) have jumped on the "Boy this is so cool" wagon with us......I think we are all looking forward to spending time together up here having good food....ice cream.....playing games ....and making memories....Thank you so much for stopping by.....God Bless each of you today........blessings Karena

This is a "Twirling" bookcase so easy for book reading

The Iron Bed was found at one of our favorite Antique stores in North Carolina

Talent I love

This is one of many beautiful prints of an artist I just LOVE........I have followed her
talent since ....




1988.......her name is "Marty Bell".....she has since moved on to her Heavenly Home which is a loss I have felt deeply because her love of cottages has been something I've drawn great joy from. Marty Bell traveled to England often through the years to find inspiration and personalities in the form of the "English Cottages"she loved to paint.. Whether large or small she had a gift for finding homes that could capture our imaginations ....she could stop time .....without missing the subtleties of what she saw... she simply put brush to canvas ... the result was something... BRILLIANT....PERSONAL....as well as generous. I have never been disappointed by any of her work. Her greatest gift in my opinion was her willingness to share her passion for the GORGEOUS homes she found and her ability to capture them in such a dreamlike other then NOW way. Such a talent.....I have always dreamed about having this amazing gift......How wonderful it would be to find something that speaks to my heart in such a profound way that I just had to capture it on canvas....how I wish I had that capability.....I do not....but I do thank the Lord for pouring gifts like Marty's into others for all of us to enjoy...admire...and benefit from. I hope you all have a great Tuesday. Soon school will be out. Summer will officially be here. I look forward to the long days.......lots of sunshine.....and time at the beach.......have a great day girls.......May the Lord bless each and every one of you in a very special way today.......I am going to finish doing laundry, mopping floors, finishing dishes and playing with furniture....I will chat more tomorrow..........toodles......Karena

Waking Up to Rain

This morning  ...I woke up to ...thunder........lightening.......and rain. As I opened my eyes the room was really dark the way it is during a big storm with thick clouds. I felt so excited because I .....LOVE STORMS......the first thing I wanted to do was go upstairs to the "cozy cabin" in our attic. I ran upstairs
 to see what the atmosphere was like during a storm since we fixed it up...the windows were wide open...the air was fresh with the smell of rain ...... strong breezes rushing from one window to another. The birds were landing on the feeder we hung outside  ...I was instantly impressed with how "peaceful" the attic felt...my sweetie came up with a tray of coffee for us. This is one of those Hallmark kind of moments that stand out in our memory as PERFECT....I feel like it's a Sunday morning to remember....I hope you all have a blessed day maybe a great day with family or time with your favorite "face".....the Lord loves you so much today .....and I think your pretty awesome too......Karena