Grateful Prayer | Thankful Heart

Time with Daughter No 3.

By Lorraine

Jamie picked me up and took me to dinner Mother’s Day night
With her six children and one on the way, we seldom have uninterrupted conversations 

we ate too much
she told me I have an addiction to sugar/sweets (I think she’s right)
she gave me a chocolate candy bar that I ate on the spot
we talked till the restaurant was nearly empty
i loved every minute spending time with her
thank you, jamie!
for all of my children…
“I’ll love you forever,
I’ll like you for always, 
As long as I’m living, 
my baby you’ll be.”
Robert N. Munsch, Love You Forever

they call me mom

By Lorraine

my blessings…
Erin Lee ~ Jill Arlene ~ Jamie Lorraine ~ Abbey Diane
~ ♥ ~ ♥ ~ ♥ ~ ♥ ~ 
The Lord bless you

and keep you;

the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you
and give you peace.
Numbers 6:24-26


If you have a mom, there is nowhere you are likely to go where a prayer has not already been.
Robert Brault

Ryan’s Birthday

By Lorraine

Last night we celebrated Ryan’s 10th birthday at his Aunt Jamie’s
 all ten of our grandchildren around the table
then cake and presents
 It was a very warm summer-like evening (after snow and chilly weather a couple weeks ago) and the kids were playing out on the front lawn.
Shaela called to me to come outside and see this little one, obviously wanting to be part of the fun, peeking out the window from her crib.
 Usually we take just the birthday child on a special outing but wanting to spend time with Jill and her family while they are visiting, we all went to Valley Forge today.
 The weather was perfect and the kids had a great time
 Brad and Jill
 Brad Jill Shaela Brenna and Ryan
a fun shot
one more day of above average temps then it’s back to seasonal weather

My New Favorite Fettuccine Alfredo Recipe

By Lorraine

Sage-infused Fettuccine Alfredo is an easy recipe for a lighter, healthier version of Fettuccine Alfredo. Serve with a crisp salad or topped with grilled chicken for a lovely Easter dinner, romantic Valentine's Day or whenever you want a special pasta meal. 
 I recently saw Lidia Bastianich prepare Fettuccine Alfredo using just a few ingredients. Although I already have a favorite recipe, I know it is high in calories. I made this version lighter and love how quickly it comes together as the pasta is cooking.  Don’t be afraid to use the sage ~ it infuses just a hint of flavor.
Sage-infused Fettuccine Alfredo is an easy recipe for a lighter, healthier version of Fettuccine Alfredo. Serve with a crisp salad or topped with grilled chicken for a lovely Easter dinner, romantic Valentine’s Day or whenever you want a special pasta meal.Continue Reading

December Highlights

By Lorraine

 outside vignettes
 inside

 

 Our weekly Bible Study Community Group having a blast at our annual Christmas Dinner
 The dearest folks that bring so much encouragement, wisdom, prayers and love to us and each other every week.
John’s Company Holiday Party.
Abbey is an employee here too, since July and someone took a photo of her and the co-founder/Executive Vice President because they are the youngest and the oldest employees.
 Christmas Eve at Jamie’s playing “Don’t Eat Cashew!” game.
Enjoying the ambiance and Christmas Eve peacefulness of her warm home.
Christmas morning with Abbey
Watched (over and over) a heartwarming video of NY grandkids singing to us via cell phone video.
 Erin, AJ and Jared & Jamie, Josh and family arrived late afternoon. They learned that Cashew was being extra mischievous and hid all of the Christmas presents. After dashing throughout the house, Keri was the first to find them in a large cabinet that recently housed our TV. 
 such fun
 chilling after dinner
 Look of fright on Chloe’s face as PopPop takes her photo.
She is a bit uncertain of him as were two other grandkids when they were babies.
Some little ones love guys and some prefer girls but they all come to love him when they get a little older.
Here he is trying to to divert her attention so she realizes he really is a nice PopPop
One of my favorite shots
The adults were still chatting in the dining room after dessert and I walked into the kitchen and noticed the kids playing with the trains and talking about the village houses and which are there favorite.  Noah even remembered which ones were his NY cousins’ favorite.
It was so sweet to hear see them having a quiet moment at the end of some busy days.
Notice Caleb looking over the sofa arm 🙂

Happy 3rd Birthday, Cambrie Noelle

By Lorraine

Cambrie LOVES Minnie Mouse!
So for her Birthday I made her a hat.

The pattern is from Repeat Crafter Me
this little 3-year old sweetie melts my heart

peeking in the window
 It was a rainy, chilly afternoon when Jared and I met Jamie and the kids at the Pop Shop
to celebrate Cambrie’s birthday in the quaint town of Collingswood, New Jersey.
A few years ago, Bobby Flay arrived at the Pop Shop for a Grilled Cheese Throwdown.

 big bowls of ice-cream made everyone happy

 and there might have been some noisy children too…

even in the rain the streets were beautiful

~*~

When Ella stopped coming for childcare back in September, I told her I would take her to our church’s Living Nativity.  So, that is what we did Saturday night. I told her afterward we could go to Friendly’s for dinner and ice-cream sundaes.  Much to my surprise, she wanted to head back to my house where we spent a couple of hours playing together in the nursery,  She made me lots of plates of play food, played dress-up and read an American Girl magazine to me.

Double Blessings

By Lorraine

Our middle two have a birthday today.
Can’t you just see the cute, playful, mischievousness, loving and thoughtful spirit of these two.
Always.
My heart overflows
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
3 John 1:4
* and between them, they have given us 9 precious grandchildren *

all is well

By Lorraine

a little wet
a little wind blown
We had a couple of shutters blown off the house and a large, heavy bench from the porch end up in a flower bed, but nothing that could have been.  We are very thankful. Many are still without power.  The number of power outages in New Jersey from hybrid storm Sandy climbed to 2.7 million. As I type, our utility company still has 900,000 customers without power.
 Yesterday I drove to Jamie’s for some time with the kids.  Lots of traffic lights out and a detour from a downed tree but no problem getting there.  Caleb was so excited to see a crew mulching fallen branches.
 Drizzly cold and windy, we got some outside time while jumping in a pile of wet leaves
 and a warm hug
a little baking
 a 1st hurricane deserves a 1st lollipop ~ it was well received!
and almost shared with a friend 🙂
~*~
The news coverage and photos of the shore points are incredible.
Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.
A lot of work for Ocean City, NJ to look like this, this, or this again.

Spur of the Moment Adventure

By Lorraine

Jared, Ella and I planned to spend the day with Jamie and the kids. When we arrived Jamie asked if we wanted to go on an adventure.  We all climbed into her 12-passenger van and it was off the Camden Waterfront. What a gorgeous day with lower temps and humidity, a sky filled with fluffy white clouds, eight delighted children and a (round about) 😉 trek to the city.  There was a mad dash to catch the ferry that shuttled us across the Delaware River.  
 From the ferry we could see on the Jersey banks, the Battleship New Jersey, The RCA building, Campbell’s Field, The Ben Franklin Bridge, the New Jersey State Aquarium and the Camden Children’s Garden.  On the Philly side we saw Penn’s Landing and historic Philadelphia.
 We walked through the streets and looking for just the right place to eat.
And we found it!  An Asian cafe with seating on the quiet sidewalk under shady trees.
The food was delicious!  We ended our meal with a wonderful plate of
Sesame Fried Bananas topped with Coconut Ice Cream!
It was such a lovely day that I texted John telling him I found the perfect day-outing for our anniversary in October.  I even told our server at the restaurant we will see her then.
He is excited!

Mother’s Day Weekend

By Lorraine

Saturday, John and I worked from 7am until 3pm in the yard weeding, trimming bushes and adding a new berm where there was a bare spot from a Japanese Maple we lost last year.  We quit to shower and dress for a drive to my cousin’s son’s wedding reception.  We picked up my sister on the way and headed to a lovely evening with family and friends.
Johnny and Nanea had a beautiful beach wedding a few weeks ago in Hawaii.

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