Celebrations Galore.....

 The last month has gone by with such speed. As the days ticked away, there were several times when I would think, "goodness if I had a piece of paper next to me I would write this down for remembering on my blog." Can I remember those things now? Of course not. Oh well. I can however share the things that are sticking out in my mind at this moment.

Aren't these colors amazing together? Normally I go for the snuggly cozy type of colors. But this bright yellow and bold purple fit perfectly for what I was doing.

This is a baby towel that I made for a dear friend that is about to be blessed. She is due the first week of March and we are all so excited. I really like blessing new babies with this style of towel because it grows with them. As a small infant, it will keep baby Aria much warmer than those thin hooded things they sell in the stores. Then as she gets older and is cruising around in toddler style, it is big enough to double as the best cape in any sort of pretend game after washing all those germs down the drain.

The baby shower was a blast. Parents and baby were both very blessed and loved on with all the necessities needed to begin their new adventure of a lifetime.

I saw something at the baby shower I had never seen before.....a diaper cake. It was the cutest thing ever! This picture is not from the party. I just googled it. I have no idea why it is now sideways. I downloaded it straight and checked it 3 times. But, if you have never seen a diaper cake, it will give you an idea of the cool blessing.




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Nana's 86th Birthday

What a joy! We just got to celebrate Nana's 86th birthday!  I love my Nana so much. Even though time occasionally plays tricks with her memory, she is still as spry as ever. I made a real effort to make sure this was a fun birthday for her. I put streamers and balloons everywhere and tried my hand at all kinds of fun foods. It was all worth it to hear her giggle at the celebration of honoring her.
Mom made her that beautiful lei in her favorite color of red. It was so deep in color that it looked like velvet.

Normally Nana will shy away from the camera. After all, it is a girl's prerogative to fuss over wanting her hair and make-up to be 'just so'. But on this day she was full of smiles and I am so grateful.

The picture above is some of our group in a nice shot. From left to right is my brother, Mom, me and Dad. Then Nana, Auntie and Angel-girl.

This shot to the right is Nana with my brother and his little Angel-girl. This makes for a 3 generation picture. What a treasure!

 Here is Nana just after blowing out the candles on her cake. I love her rosy cheeks! Doesn't she look wonderful?!

I made her cake and had so much fun doing it. It is a 3 layer angel-food cake with a strawberry filling in between each layer. The outside is a blend of whip cream and instant cheesecake pudding. while the top is slices of kiwi and strawberries.






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The Wedding

If you could only feel the happy sigh of finality and relief over here. The wedding was yesterday and now they are off on their honeymoon. Parties are done, no more alterations at the dress shop to fix fiascoes. It was a beautiful wedding and I think it all came out just the way Icca wanted it which is as it should be. It was a wonderful and memorable day. The professional pictures will take a couple of weeks to get back. Among other shots I want to share, I am hoping in that lot there will be a close up of her dress so I can share the sparkle of it all finished. But for now, here is a great wedding party picture from someone's cell phone. (Hubby and I are just to the groom's left.)

 

I am so grateful to have been blessed with being a part of it all. It was an odd feeling for me. I don't know if I can adequately explain it but...... When Heather got married, we sent some money to help and that was really all that we did besides being there for her big day. Not that anything is wrong with that. We live hours apart. It just is what it is. And at the time, I was in Texas taking care of Daddy. I had flown to Spokane the day before the wedding and was overwhelmed with the season of emotion I was in. 

I don't regret any of it. Like I said, it just is what it is. I felt so blessed to be in so much of the details of this wedding. Icca's family was there. But because of the dynamics of their past and Icca needing to live with us all this time, I could see that it was a hard and awkward day for them. Maybe because of my own lack of feeling involved with our daughter's wedding, I could appreciate more of how Icca's family must have been feeling.  They had tears and were obviously happy for her. But they hung back in the shadows and looked quietly sad most of the day. I tried to make small talk with them and offer the ease of knowing there is no judgement around here. But it didn't seem to bring any real ease into the day. I do understand. I can only pray and God will handle it.

Mr and Mrs Reis 2~12~2012

My Puddin girl took this shot during the reception. 

Don't they look like a blissfully happy couple?

 Goodness it is late in the night. I better get to bed.
God bless your week in all you do with His joyous abundance of favor and assurance of love.

Peek-n-Seek With Snow....

The winter weather has everyone tense here. There is a weather front teasing us with the idea of snow in the air. If it were to come, it is not like it would be a bad storm. The threat is only an inch or two. Most people, not from the great northwest, tend to think that because we are 'up north' we must gets tons of snow all the time. On the contrary, because we have the Cascade mountain range and the coastline boxing us in, winter fronts usually bounce away from us. When Portlanders hear talk of snow (even an inch worth) everyone tends to run to the store for supplies and 'batten down the hatches' as if we will be stranded in our homes and blocked from modern civilization for months on end. 

The true danger is in the driving conditions. Because snow and ice is not a normal occurrence around here, people tend to hit the road without much street savvy as they drive their cars. The un-cautious either want to joy ride and play with their seldom used 4WD vehicles or barrel through the streets at normal speeds to prove that a little cold weather will not deter them from their mission.    

All of that makes me want to stay indoors where it is safe and stare at the beauty from my window.
I have had a cold this week and my usual laryngitis is visiting me so I haven't felt up to gallivanting much anyway. The weekend was slow....well slower would be a better word phrase to use. Friday night there were girls here doing trial run throughs with Icca Chou's makeup and hair styles for the wedding. Pizza, facial products and giggles were all over my house. Saturday was the bridal shower (at someone else's home). Once I got everything ready for Hubby's party at our home for his Hood-2-Coast meeting; I spent the evening with giggling women blessing our sweet bride to be.  It was a great turn out and she was blessed abundantly.

I finished her dress this week. It didn't take an enormous amount of time. It was only my procrastinating that held me back. I am excited at how it looks but will have to wait until after the wedding to share pictures with you.

Today I did the cake server set. It was fun as well. I love how bead work enhances and makes everything so unique. I plan on doing the same beading concept to the stemware of their toasting goblets.



It is now less than one month to the wedding. I figure our lives are going to be swamped from here on out with all things wedding. The tuxes have all been fitted, florist arranged, photographer contracted and food planned. Our dresses are on order and should be here by the end of next week. That has been an interesting hiccup in the otherwise smoothness of all the planning. Everything that happens in life has opportunity to learn from. So from the dresses......my learning curve is that I doubt I will ever order clothing using an online sizing chart again.

For the moment, Nyquil, my pillow and fuzzy blanket are calling my name.

Thank You Papa God for the  conveniences of today. Thank You for Nyquil, my pillow and fuzzy blanket. Thank You for the joys of crafts and individual creations. Thank You for your own artistry in the seasons that change. Amongst the many reasons that I cannot even begin to fathom, You create change in the seasons to care for the earth and to make us smile. The joys of snowflakes falling and the unique individuality of each one.....and You know them all just like You know us.

God bless you abundantly in all you do this week. Be filled with His joy and know that you are most definitely loved and never alone.