Button Love

My last couple of posts have been about
things from my past and this post is
no different.    My maternal Grandmother
known as Mamaw Mary was an wonderful
seamtress.   Mary Ellen Walker Grubbs
raised 4 children by sewing for the public.
She loved buttons, ric rac, lace, etc.

When I found  the blog Northern Cottage and
saw the necklaces and braclets made from
buttons, I thought I want to make one of these!!

So grab her button...THE TOP ONE on my
blog and go look!  You will love it!  And
keep your fingers crossed for me...I would
love to win the button braclet!!!

~Janis

                                                      Valentine's Day 
                                    Thru the Years

Today's post is a walk thru my past Valentine's Days.

How many of you remember making these?
And how about these?

Anyone else willing to confess looking thru
your shoebox to see if your "boyfriend" had
put a Valentine in your box.  Or better yet
a special Valentine in your box. 
Anyone else willing to confess looking thru
your box over and over and over and making
sure everyone gave you a Valentine? 
Great Memories!!!!

How about this?

This was a MUST for Valentine's Day!!!
Looking thru the box finding just the right HEART
to give to your friends.

And of course at my house Valentine's Day
always meant one of these from my Daddy.

Another great memory.  You know, I still
love those little boxes of Valentine chocolates!

Then the teenage years.....
Some Valentine's Days were wonderful...
others not so much :(.
Gosh, glad those years are far, far behind me.

Then the years of Flowers and Chocolates....

David never forgot.  I loved them all.
He still would but I insist NO!
This year with both ourselves a new bird feeder!
Funny!  But we love it!!!

Valentine's Day is a good day to celebrate with
the ones with love.  And I'm definitely not bashing
Valentine's Day but I read something this morning
that made me think differently about Valentine's Day.


THE BEST VALENTINE'S GIFT

John 3:16 KJV



For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

~Janis

Give Away a French Buttons


Click on the French Buttons Button
on my side bar and enter the drawing
for this Beatiful necklace and braclet.
If you win will you share?
~Janis
And read her blog ...you'll love it!!

                           Remembering My Daddy
                    Also know as PAPAW

The anniversary of my Daddy's death known to many as Papaw is
coming up on February 18th.   It has been 8 years and not a day
goes by that I don't see something or someone that brings back a
memory of him.

If your Dad is still living make sure you spend every minute
you can with him.  You are blessed to have him.

To everyone that is reading this that knew my Daddy or Papaw
please know if he knew you, he loved you.  That's just the kind
of guy he was.  And if you had children...He LOVED your children.
He loved being Papaw to soo many kids.  They brought such
joy to him.

He was a great Daddy.  He taught me so much about everything.

And I mean everything...you see I was a "surprise".  I have
two older brothers they were 9 and 6 when I was born. So you
guessed it I was  SPOILED but not in a bratty way.
I was spoiled with his time and attention and you will
understand this when you keep reading.

Yep, I was Daddy's little girl and I'm still Daddy's little girl
54 years later.

Just want to name some of things my Daddy taught me while
he was SPOILING me.

Hope some of them will make you smile....

Daddy taught me to:

Fish...but no way was I putting the worm on the hook or
taking the fish off the hook.  And cleaning the fish.
NO WAY but he made me watch.

Frog gigging...I think that is how you spell it. Went once
and was scared to death!!!

How to have fun camping and sleeping in sandy
sleeping bags and swimming in cold spring feed
streams.

How to make compost including shoveling horse and sheep
poop! How to hold a pitchfork and not throw it when you
throw the hay.  Yes, I was dangerous with a pitchfork.

The difference between a water mocassin, a copperhead, and
a rattlesnake.  YIKES!!!  Scared to death of them but I know what
they look like!

How to find the perfect cedar tree in the woods to cut and
bring home for our Christmas tree.

How to tell if an apple, peach, pear, strawberry etc. was
ripe enough to pick.

How to shell blackeyed peas, snap green beans, and "thump"
a watermelon to see if it was ripe.

How to shake the limbs on a pecan tree to make the pecans
fall and how to tell a "green" pecan from a ripe pecan.  (Taught
me this after a terrible stomach ache from eating green pecans!)

How to shell pecans, how to graft native pecan trees with papershell
pecan saplings.

Names of trees, plants, flowers....he knew them all!

How to grow just about anything!  He had a super green thumb and
mine is getting greener every growing season.  You know I think he tends
to my flowerbeds from Heaven. 

How to deliver presents and food baskets to the needy at
Christmas.

How to drive a riding lawnmower and how to drive
a stick shift three speed on the column.

Birds, birds, birds.  The man knew them all and what they
like to eat and where they nest.  He use to drive me crazy
with all the facts...but today I know my birds.

AND MUSIC....he loved Country music.  He had the
radio on all the time in the car and the stereo on all
the time in the house.

So tonight in his honor you are listening to one of his favorites.

And if you knew my Daddy aka Papaw send a hug towards
heaven tonight to him.  He is smiling down on you.

Love you and still miss you Daddy,

~Janis

******Yes, she was a BEAUTIFUL Baby******

All mothers think their babies are beautiful, and they are, but
some are just more beautiful than others.

Yes, Ashley was a beautiful baby and yes the most beautiful
of all as far as I'm concerned!

We waited for her almost 6 years so we were very ready!

She was tiny so her delivery was no big deal.   REALLY!!!
I was so drugged they had to wake me up to tell me
I was having a contraction and wake me up to
tell me to push. 

She was a little peanut 5 lbs. 14 1/2 ounces so no
pointy head , smashed nose, or red marks.  Just a
tiny, perfect, beautiful baby girl with a LOUD unending
cry...oh wait...that can be a whole other post!
Let's not talk about those unending days and
nights of crying.


Let's just concentrate on BEAUTIFUL  because she was and
is!!!

Happy Birthday Ashley aka Sissy we love you!!

Ashley and her BEAUTIFUL baby boy Hartmann at 6 months.
Hartmann is now almost 15 months and on the move!!

Happy Birthday Ashley.........

A dream is a wish your heart makes


When you're fast asleep

In dreams you lose your heartaches

Whatever you wish for, you keep

Have faith in your dreams and someday

Your rainbow will come smiling thru

No matter how your heart is grieving

If you keep on believing

the dream that you wish will come true


What little girl does not grow up loving Cinderella?
Well Ashley loved Cinderella more and more as she
got older.   We purchased every Cinderella doll,
book, albumn, snowglobe, etc.......
AND OF COURSE WE WATCHED CINDERELLA
TO MANY TIMES TO COUNT!!!

In fact, her husband took her to a Cinderella production
and then proposed to her at his apartment with a
banner stating  "Will you be my Cinderella?"

JUST HOW MUCH MORE CINDERELLA CAN
YOU BE?

Well, there is more.  As the words state in the
song "A dream is a wish your heart makes..."
Read all the words again and you will understand.

Ashley is our (Mom and Dad's) Cinderella.
After a long time (almost seven years) a little surgery
and some fertile drugs...our Cinderella arrived on
Feb 4, 1983...all 5 lbs and 14 1/2 ounces ....YEP!!!
CINDERELLA  she is!!!!!

                                          


SO TURN UP THE VOLUME AND LISTEN
WE GIRLS ALL LOVE CINDERELLA.....

~Janis

                                 Celebrating HER Birthday


This is the first of three posts I'll be making to wish our daughter

               Ashley L. Fletcher Gurski

Happy Birthday on Friday, February 4, 2011.

Just a simple post so she will know we love her!

I'm hoping she and YOU will listen the first two songs before
you move on the next blog, email, or wherever you might go.

Two songs that are powerful and meaningful if you take the
time to listen.

Okay, this post would not be complete without a picture of
Ashley.  I have hundreds (maybe thousands) but I have none
of her when she was a baby scanned into my computer.  I
know, I know I need to get busy on that but for now..here
are a couple of her.

Love you bunches......MOM & Dad aka GrandMommy & Papa

Still trying to learn the ins and outs of blogging.
This is one of my favorite songs.
Puts a smile in my heart when I'm feeling down.
Hope it will do the same for you!
~Janis

Casting Crowns - Who Am I

                        ~~~  Famous and Infamous Trios ~~~


I really wanted to title this post  ~~~ Bacon, Biscuits, & Brownies~~~
BUT....I thought another alliteration might just be a little too much!!!

This is what brought this blog post to mind this morning.

Yes, this is what I'm doing this morning.   We just had bacon & cheese biscuits for breakfast.
I know bad, bad, bad for us.  I justify this breakfast by the fact we have breakfast once a week
on Saturdays, sooooooo WHY NOT.   We will both take our cholestrol meds tonight.
Now the brownies are in the oven and they are smelling yummy!!!

I'm sure by now you are wondering where in the world (oops...I did the alliteration thing again)
Where is she going with this post.

As I was frying bacon, baking biscuits, and mixing brownies this morning of course I thought
of all three words begin with B.  My mind just works that way. Why?  I don't know, maybe
I will do some research and blog next time about the workings of my mind or maybe not!!
That might just be a little too scary!!!

Back to my point...TRIOS
For example this morning Bacon, Biscuits & Brownies.

Trios - a group of three items or people.
After a short search and a little thought I came up with some Famous and Infamous Trios
These are in no particular order, some may be famous to you or infamous to you.

The 3 Stooges
The 3 Tenors
Huey, Dewey, & Louie
The 3 Bears
The 3 Blind Mice
The 3 Little Pigs
Rock, Paper, & Scissors
Shake, Rattle, & Roll
Stop, Look, & Listen
And the list goes on and on......

And of course the ones that are everyday in email and text

LOL,BFF,IDF


Here are the trios that are my favorite

The Father, The Son, & The Holy Spirit
Faith, Hope, & Charity
The Red, White, & Blue

Of course I have listed these in the order of importance in my life.

But I do want to focus on CHARITY in this post.

CHARITY has gotten a bad rap in the last years.
Many people look at CHARITY as a "handout".
Well, charity is is NOT a handout. 

Here are 2 of the 7 meanings of CHARITY.

benevolent feeling, esp. toward those in need or in disfavor:
Christian love; agape

WOW!!!  Isn't that what GOD has so freely given to us!   We like to label it GRACE.  
Could that be because GRACE has a better image that the world has attached to it than the image the world has attached to Charity? 

The world selectively chooses what image whether good or bad to attaches to everything. Don't you
agree?  But here is what GOD's word says about CHARITY.  Remember the definitions of
CHARITY (this is your hint to go back above and read again).


Love one another with brotherly affection [as members of one family], giving precedence and showing honor to one another.



Romans 12: 10



Hebrews 13:16
And do not neglect doing good and sharing; for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

AND THE MOST COMPELLING OF ALL TO ME:


"This is my command; Love each other."



John 15:17


So today is Saturday, can you make a little time for a little CHARITY?

Yep, something as little as a 99 cent box of brownies (actually only 49 cents after
the coupon).  

You never know how much a little CHARITY could mean to sooooo much to someone.

Take a moment to click and listen.




~Janis



 

                         
                                     Friends + Fellowship + Fire = FRUIT ?

Okay, I know another catchy title to get you to stop a moment and read this post.
You may be saying you are carrying alliteration a little to far!  But in today's world
where we are bombarded with information at every turn sometimes if the title
of an article or the 10 second sound bite of a newsclip does not catch my eye
or ear I do not pause to read or listen.

You may be saying how does Friends + Fellowship + Fire = Fruit?
Well, just slow down and read since I have your attention now!

My previous post was about a very special group of friends.
(pssst....this would be a good time to stop reading this post and
read the previous post.)
We have named ourselves the LADIES OF GHS 74.   We are ladies
that graduated with each other from Greenville High School in Greenville,
Texas in 1974.  I really don't know how large of group of Ladies we could
be but we are continuing to reconnect with our former classmates and the
group grows each time we get together. 

Now that I got you up to speed I tell you what the title of this post is all about.

First....
Friends, yes we are friends even after all these years.
Some of these ladies I have know since Kindergarten
some I did not meet until High School.  Doesn't matter how long we have known
each other we are still friends.

                                   Miss Jodie Thompson's Kindergarten Class 
                                                           1961 
If you know me you'll see me immediately the first one on the left on the bottom
row with my mouth wide open....Go ahead make the comment, Yep that is Janis
talking!

Fellowship:  friendly relationship; companionship

Our fellowship is much more than a friendly relationship or companionship.   Our
fellowship runs deep, life long thru all the circumstances in our lives over all
these years. (2nd psssttt....if you didn't read the previous post, you need to!)

We  know how to              F  E  L   L  O  W  S  H  I  P !!!!!!

FIRE

   Now the serious part of this post.  One of GHS Ladies of 74 lost her home two
weeks ago.  They lost all their material possessions and their home BUT praise
GOD they are got out safely.

This is an actual picture of her home....JUST one photo of what is left of her home to help
all of us that have never experienced a house fire to understand a little bit of the devastation
that they are experiencing on top of memories of being awaken in the early morning
hours to find themselves in their home engulfed with raging fire and smoke......

AND NOW FRUIT

Galatians 6:2
Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Proverbs 3:27-29 (MSG) Never walk away from someone who deserves help; your hand is God's hand for that person. Don't tell your neighbor "Maybe some other time" or "Try me tomorrow" when the money's right there in your pocket.


I've told you we are friends, I've shown you the fellowship and the FIRE and now I'm
so grateful to have experienced seeing the FRUIT of our Friendship.

I believe GOD intervened last night at the GHS Ladies of 74 fellowship and opened
our hearts and our wallets to give generously to our friend and classmate.  I had thought
about posting the amount that was given, but then thought NO!  It is not about the
amount it is about the gift.   The gift of friendship....

WE LOVE YOU DEBRA!!!

~Janis

                                                 The Blessing of          
                                              Friends & Classmates
                          after 36 years.......


                                   The Meaning of  Friend  per Mr. Webster  
 
                                a person attached to another by feelings of
                                           affection or personal regard.


                              The Meaning of Classmates per Mr. Webster

                             a member of the same class at a school or college.



We all have friends, we all have classmates but how many of us are blessed with
classmates that are still friends after 36 years.   I feel there are few of us. That is why I'm
writing this post today to tell THE LADIES of GHS 74 how thankful I am to count all
of you as my friends after all these years!

We have come aloooooong way LADIES!!!!!

Ladies whose marriages that are still strong after 30 + years, Marriages that have crumbled....
Husbands that are our best friends, ExHusbands that have brought great grief....

Ladies that have lived their entire lives in Greenville, Ladies that left after high school
graduation to rarely return ....

Ladies who have lost Children.  We have suffered thru miscarriages, We have suffered from children we have lost to substance abuse, children we have lost to death.

Ladies whose Children have made us swell with pride, Children that have made us cry from our broken hearts for them...
And  Ladies whose children have blessed them with grandchildren.

Ladies who have lost their homes, Ladies that have lost their health and battled thru cancer and have survived!
 Ladies who have lost their parents, Ladies who have lost their siblings, and  yes, Ladies that have lost their way at times....

I think we the LADIES of GHS 74 can relate to many of the experiences I have listed above and
thru it all we are FRIENDS.....Yes, FRIENDS....no matter what we have experienced in these last 36 years we are still FRIENDS......I think we can all agree that is a  Blessing.


~Janis

Hairless, Helpless, but NOT HOPELESS

Okay, I know this title means nothing to many of you but if you will read this post I hope it is something that you think about.  I know it has been forever since I posted.  Just busy with life, holidays and of course the cutest grandson in the world Hartmann James.   Don't know that I will post a lot on this blog but when I do it will be something that I care about, something that concerns me, or something that I really feel led to say.  I can promise you one thing, my posts will never be political.  Don't get me wrong!  I have very strong feelings concerning politics but I feel it is not my place to push my views on politics on anyone.  Anything other than politics is fair game!!  For those of you that know me, you know I speak my mind!

So you are probably asking what is on my mind tonight?

Well, it is something and someone (actually two someones).  One someone that I consider my friend and another someone that I have never met but understand some of what she is going through.  That doesn't tell you much does it?  If you really know me you have figured out what the something is by now.....Cancer

Medical Definition:

Any one of a large number of diseases characterized by the development of abnormal cells that divide uncontrollably and have the ability to infiltrate and destroy normal body tissue. Cancer also has the ability to spread throughout your body.

Pretty Cold and Impersonal......

Well, CANCER is cold but becomes very personal!

My definition and most likely any cancer patients definition or survivor's definition is any/all of the following and the thoughts you have are many.  Many more than I'm listing below.  But here are a few...... 

CANCER........
What changed my life forever!  
That blob on the sonogram that turned my life and my family's life upside down.

What me?  There is no cancer in my family! I don't feel sick!   Are you sure?  I never felt the lump you say is 2cm the size of an almond in my breast.

What biopsy? Then surgery? 27 staples in my chest? I'm going to be bald?
A year of Chemo and radiation, 5yrs. of oral meds that make me feel like I'm 70 years old and I will always be screened closely for cancer.

I've heard Chemo called "rat poison". 
Chemo makes you sick and Radiation makes you "crispy"!


Cancer KILLS people..............Cancer could KILL ME!!!

Hope that wasn't to graphic for you.  The truth is not always easy.

So now that you know what is own my mind NOW let me tell you who is on my mind.
THEY are the reason I'm posting on my blog tonight.

No names, once again if you know me you know these ladies.  I've mentioned their names many times asking for prayer for them. If you don't know them, that is okay too.  They need your prayers too!

Both are beautiful ladies.  One at the tender age of 16 the other in her thirties.
You see CANCER came into their lives in 2010, both unexpectedly. I don't think
anyone every expects CANCER. CANCER has no favorites. You can be young or old,
female or male, blond or brunette, fat or skinny, healthy or unhealthy, rich or poor.....

Both are traveling down the "treatment" road tonight.  One a little further down the road than the other but both wondering where the road will lead next. Both have questions.  Is the treatment working? How will I feel tomorrow? Will my counts be good tomorrow?  What "little" new or "BIG" new side effect is next?

Both have wonderful families, doctors, and support of many friends which is invaluable BUT they have JESUS as their Lord and Savior which leads back to my title...
                               
Hairless, Helpless, but NOT HOPELESS

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (JER 29:11).


~Janis