Sisters Archives - Grateful Prayer

Vintage Childhood Chrome Table and Chairs Restoration

By Lorraine

Restoring my vintage childhood chrome table and chairs was a labor of love. This sweet mid-century Formica and chrome set has been in our family for many years.Continue Reading

End of Year Wrap-up

By Lorraine

As the year draws to a close I’m trying to catch up by posting activities and memory-making moments with and for family. It’s been a busy and full couple of months. My heart overflows. Hard to imagine that less than five months ago I had a total hip replacement.Continue Reading

snippets of family and friends

By Lorraine

“Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.”

Edith Sitwell

This sweet home is where our daughter, Jamie and husband Josh and family now live, love and grow. They moved in just before the holidays and are enjoying a lovely, spacious house that more than accommodates their large family.

baby #8 is due in March 🙂

above photos by Nathan Lawrensen Photography

Upstate NY twin, Jill, husband Brad and their precious four.

Youngest daughter, Abbey feeling better after losing her car in a traffic accident. She was hit from behind while sitting at a traffic light and forced into the cars in front of her.

The bottom left photo is Abbey and our oldest grandson, Jared, taken by dear, sweet blogging friend Judy (Just a Little Something for You).

A delightful visit from Judy and her husband, John, who came bearing delicious treats, pretty plates, exciting cookbook, warm smiles, loving hearts and leaving us happy and thankful for very special friends.

A pic with my brother as we celebrated a loved nephews birthday.

visiting grand kids

warm inside ~ cold outside

a surprise party celebrating my aunts 75th birthday

warm by the hearth

catching up with family

By Lorraine

Spring days ~ busy days!

April was filled with lots a family activities and get together’s!

The son of our cousin, Caroline, was married in a lovely wedding.

Caroline, with her family including the newlyweds, Dan & Abbey

(photo taken from facebook. Tyler Boye Photography)

As is so popular now, they had a photo booth situated in an obscure corner. All I can say is that my sister, John and I got some of the funniest pics ever! So silly, that Carol made me promise never to share on any social media! Just imagine, John in the center with a crazy hat and over-sized glasses with basically the same expression in every photo and my sister and I making every goofy face we could possibly think of. Oh, my! Each time I look at the photos, I crack up all over again!

(photo taken from Stephanie’s facebook page)

Then there was a christening for our cousin Karen’s grandson, baby Mark.

Together again with Carol, her daughter, Christine, John and I. Later noticed the framed photo on Karen’s mantle. It is of our daughter, Erin when she was just three year old performing flower girl responsibilities in Karen’s wedding. Such sweet memories!

There were random, every day moments too. I caught this scene of, Erin, Jared and Abbey studying in the family room. Erin is completing her master’s degree, Jared is a high school Junior and Abbey is studying digital animation.

Noah and I went to breakfast one morning and later we did some cooking together.

I even got a pic from Erin as she drove through center city the other day and saw the old Divine Lorraine Hotel.

We had a trip to The Pop Shoppe with the kids, celebrated our dear friend’s 91st birthday during Bible study and peeked in as the kids helped Aunt Abbey create a 5-little monkeys video for a class assignment.

Noah went to work with PopPop and learned about nuclear engineering.

Jared was inducted into his schools Technology Society.

pics with his proud mom and PopPop

Each day that passes, each achievement obtained, each celebration shared, each difficulty acknowledged, each experience learned, each encouraging smile, each laughter and giggle, each conversation, each hug and embrace are all gifts.

“We pray for the big things and forget to give thanks for the ordinary,

small (and yet really not small) gifts.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Gratitude paints little smiley faces on everything it touches.”

Richelle E. Goodrich

Smile Anyway: Quotes, Verse, & Grumblings for Every Day of the Year

Paint by Numbers

By Lorraine

Paint-by-number kits… do you remember them? Have you completed one?

This Playful Kittens piece was painted by my mom in 1954 and truly a piece of Americana.

Dining Room Hutch

By Lorraine

I cannot tell you how excited I am about this beautiful hutch from my sister!

When she asked me if I wanted it I could not believe her generosity.

Not only is it white, but it is big and deep. And able to hold many of my larger pieces that I did not have easy access.

This is the view from the kitchen. John and I moved the hutch that was in that space to the opposite wall. Carol used the top and bottom of the hutch in different rooms. The top section was on the floor as a book cabinet and she didn’t light it up.

Wondering about the strand of lights? There’s a story…

Since the electrical plug hadn’t been used for several years, there was green gunk on the prongs. I wiped away most of it but some remained. John insisted plugging it in. As he was heading to the outlet, my words to him were, “You better not plug it in. You might electrocute yourself!”

“It’ll be fine,” he said.

Then, POP! POP! POP!

Yep, not only did he blow all of the bulbs along the inside edge of the cabinet but many of the bulbs shattered throughout the cabinet. Now its off to a lighting store to find replacements.

The little twinkle lights strand was just so I could get an idea how the crystal pieces will look when there is illumination from working lights inside.

This china cabinet holds dishes and linens,

Carols also gave me a pair of rugs that are the perfect color and pattern for the dining room.

Though too small for the area, I am determined to make them work.

Since this photo was taken, we have added a backing and taped the two rugs together on the bottom so they appear as one. The chairs do not remain on the rugs when pulled out for sitting but, I can live with that because it looks so pretty!

Vintage French Provincial Bedroom Set

By Lorraine

My sister, Carol, just went to closing on a house she sold.

I lent a hand helping her pack.

We began in mid-November and through sorting and wrapping, taping and stacking, hauling and heaving, lugging and loading, stooping and stretching, sunshine and raindrops, lost keys and cell phones and frustrating inspections, there was much chatting and memories, stories and updates, giggles and laughter and sisterly love.

This vintage French Provincial bedroom set belong to our parents, purchased in the early 1960’s. It went to Carol when Mommy passed several years ago and I got the new set mommy was then using.

Carol doesn’t want to take this to her next home and though I wasn’t in need of a bedroom set, the sentimental value was too great to pass it up and now resides in our guest room.

The chest on chest belonged to Daddy and how I remember, as a kid, snooping through his top drawer and seeing his neatly folded hankies, perfectly placed wallet, coins, keys, pens, deck of cards and trinkets stored there.

I left the white iron bed that we had purchased and used until we received mommy’s new set. It is a queen-size and better suited for visitors than the full bed that is part of the set. I think it works with the other pieces.

Searching old photo albums for shots with the furniture in the background, I found these:

My 8th grade graduation

Cousin, Karen and I as flower girl and junior bridesmaid for Carol’s wedding

Daddy and his first grandchild, Chrissy (Carol’s oldest) at his organ

and

Carol ready for her senior prom

Carol, John and I looking a wee weary, took a selfie after a long, busy day, with only the steps to sit upon. Still happy together

(John may have been a just a tad grumpy being forced in a silly selfie photo, but he was a good sport)

and still finding fun in being together.

yes, sisters. she is so kind, smart, poised, beautiful and generous and I love her to pieces

❤

Next time, I will show you where I put the bed to this set and then my dining room changes.

ta-ta for now!

Banana Oat Bars and Winter Days

By Lorraine

I take lots of photos. I keep the best and organize them into various file folders for easy retrieval should I want to find something in the future. The others I delete. Usually I keep up, but inevitably fall behind in this task each fall when I get extra busy with projects.

That’s what I have been working on these crazy weather days. After the new year we had an eight-inch snowstorm. A few days ago there were -30 wind-chills. Then is warmed up and all the snow melted. This morning is was freezing, icy rain that caused accidents everywhere and even a salt truck overturning. Tomorrow it is going up to 60 degrees F.

Like the random weather, I am sharing unrelated photos and throwing in a recipe that I spontaneously made when I saw the recipe posted on facebook.

This adorable photo is of our youngest grandchild, Jethro. His mama took the picture and I couldn’t resist sharing. I didn’t make the hat – it was in a hand-me-down container of clothes he received.

Icy precipitation covered these lilac branches yesterday.

So I didn’t expect to see this robin land on a branch as icy raindrops fell.

Almost through a cord of wood already as we stay warm in frigid temperatures. For the first time I had frost on the inside of my windows. Noah and Silas bundled up and braved the chill long enough to build a dapper snowman

Cambrie asked if she could make her favorite Silly faces as I snapped photos.

Our oldest grandson was nominated for Student of the month and his mom received a certificate for National Criminal Justice Honor Society from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia

We worked very hard liquidating Aunt Marie’s sweet little Sears Kit house bungalow and readied to sell.

A fun selfie pic of John and I enjoying a stay-at-home date-night of wine and pizza while we watched the old movie classic, Roman Holiday

My sister and I at her daughters birthday party

My favorite pup

I couldn’t share this patchwork quilt prior to Christmas because it was a surprise for our daughter, Jill who is providing foster care for a dear baby boy. With the extra fabric I made the soft cube toy for him as well.

I didn’t know this photo was taken until I saw it on our churches website. Baby Jethro in the glow of candlelight as we sang Silent Night on Christmas Eve. Abbey is in the foreground with Caleb, Chloe and Jamie in the background.

And finally, no sooner did I see a recipe on my facebook feed, I went straightway to the kitchen and gave this Banana Oat Bar a try. It caught my attention because it was suggested as an alternative to wrongful cravings (which I was having). The original recipe contains no sugar, butter or eggs and since I had ripe bananas on the counter, I whipped it together and popped it into the toaster oven in little time.

The recipe wasn’t detailed so I wasn’t sure if it would bake up like a bar or be more like baked oatmeal. I sprayed the dish prior to spreading the mixture and was happy that it came out easily and cut neatly.

I can’t say that my sweet tooth didn’t think of spreading the bars with peanut butter and (heaven forbid) pipe some melted chocolate on top but I subdued that impulse and found them to taste, well, healthy. They had a pleasant banana flavor, hint of sweetness from the raisins and a soft, chewy texture. I got 12 4-inch x 1-inch bars and with my substitutions, I figured each to be about 70 calories. A good, healthy alternative to curb a snack attack. If calories aren’t a concern, stirring in some mini chocolate chips and/or nuts would be a nice addition.

Banana Oat Bars

PRINT RECIPE

3 ripe bananas, mashed (I used 1 cup)

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce (I used 1/2 cup since I didn’t have 3 bananas)

2 cups oats

1/4 cup almond milk (I used 2% milk)

1/2 cup raisins

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

optional (I added 1 Tbs Splenda)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

lightly spray an 8-inch square dish

In mixing bowl, Stir together all of the ingredients until well combined. Pour into prepared dish and spread evenly. Bake about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Cut into bars.

Yield: 12 1-inch x 4-inch bars

Double Birthday Party Dinner

By Lorraine

Wrapping up a whirlwind Christmas holiday with our extended family last night was the perfect ending to Jill and Brad’s visit.
Since many of our family members don’t get to see them very often and since two really awesome guys are having birthdays, we got together to celebrate.

Happy Birthday Joe (our nephew) and Brad (our son-in-law)!

These two little girls became instant best friends forever.
Does anyone know the genealogical relationship between children that share the same great-grandparents (their grandparents are sisters) ?
Cambrie is my grandchild and Olivia is my sisters grandchild ~ I think that makes them second cousins?

Our handsome, Joe married to …

our niece, Toni (with her cousin, Jamie’s baby Jethro) (1st cousin once removed?)

my sister, Carol, Toni, totally enjoying baby Jet and my niece, Eva

my brother, Frank and our son-in-law, Brad

my sister-in-law, Arlene and our daughter Jill

Carol, me, Carol’s daughter Chris and Chris’ daughter Alexis

Sweet Chloe

Abbey with her boyfriend, Ryan, a very nice mutual friend and our grandson, Jared

Little one enjoying a movie in Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop’s room

Many years ago, our sister-in-law began a tradition of snapping Christmas photos of my brother (her husband) my sister and I.

They have become cherished memories for each of us.

shivering kiddos giving their good-byes before cousins head home to upstate NY

~ regretfully, I did not get photos with Jamie, Josh, John, or niece Caitee ~

{happy sigh}… next comes January. A welcome time for me after the (enjoyable) hustle and bustle.

I love the newness of January and the whiteness of snow (hopefully) and a time to refresh.

Wishing you all the best in the New Year!

Sweet Lavender Scones in the Parlor

By Lorraine

Easy recipe for glazed Sweet Lavender Scones delicious with coffee or tea. Lavender buds impart a mild floral hint that is unique but not overpowering.

You just might want to plan a tea and invite a few friends over for a relaxed afternoon. These glazed Sweet Lavender Scones are delicious with coffee or tea. Lavender buds impart a mild floral hint that is unique but not overpowering. They look lovely and taste amazing.Continue Reading

Mustache Bash Birthday Party Ideas

By Lorraine

My beloved had a birthday in January. Wanting to celebrate, get together with family and a few friends and looking for a time of laughter and fun, I decided to throw a party. A party with a Mustache theme. A Mustache Bash Birthday party. There is tons of inspiration and ideas packed into this post!

Toni and Joe

By Lorraine

I knew this day would be a very special one because the two individuals joining hands and hearts together are very special. This was the day Toni and Joe exchange their vows to one another to be there for each other in all capacities for the rest of their lives.

Photo Source: Unknown from facebook

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.

The Kiddos

By Lorraine

Cambrie loving Chloe

Cambrie Keri & Chloe

Keri ~ motherly and girly

Cambrie ~ tiny and independent (capable of holding her own as one of six siblings)

Also… soft and pixie-ish (loud and clear when defending herself)

Silas ~ sweet and connected

Ella (like a grandchild) Very girly, bright, capable

Keri ~ thoughtful artistic and creative

Noah ~ strong, athletic and organized

Caleb John ~ full of fun quirky character. Wish you could hear the sweet musical way he talks. It would warm your heart.

Keri and Chloe

Chloe Keri and wiggly Cambrie (even Gummy Bears couldn’t keep her in place for a photo)

Jared ~ self-proclaimed geek, academic neat organized even-keeled, affectionate and tender-hearted

Baby Chloe ~ tiny soft kissable snugly happy smiley

Jamie and Chloe

Family gathered together for a lovely bridal shower for my niece Toni

sisters ~ caring, thoughtful encouraging helpful fun-loving and oft times downright giddy

Carol is the mother-of-the-bride

Ryan’s birthday gift from Aunt Erin ~ he thought this was very cool

Ryan ~ Bright, athletic, respectful, attentive considerate
Brenna ~ quiet, athletic, thoughtful and nurturing
Shaela ~ Adorable, fun, affectionate leader and Daddy’s girl
and Ella who love spending time with the kids.

Guess who lost her first baby tooth while visiting Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop’s?

Linking to:

Happy Family Times @Crafty Moms Share