Cherry blossoms...

It has been a beautiful day here in the Foothills of North Carolina! 

Hope you enjoy the photos...


Elegant cherry blossoms...so pretty!

Lovely!

A quick snapshot!

One of our little bunch!  Precious!!!




"The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever."
Isaiah 40:8 




A little bit of everything...

Today was the first "official" day of spring...and, may I mention, my wonderful Momma's birthday!  She is such a blessing to me!  She is a true Proverbs 31 woman and I love her dearly!!! 

I wanted to share some things that I have been doing lately.  It seems I have been into a little bit of everything.  (From keeping my eye on the ever-growing kittens, to sewing some new projects, to trying some first-time crafts, to baking...the list goes on!) 

Here are some pictures...



The kittens' eyes are opened and they are doing very well!

They are starting to act like kittens, instead of babies.  :-(

A German Chocolate cake for Momma's birthday!

Homemade roses...

A bib and baby shoes set...

Along with these, I have been purusing patterns (which I love to do), watering my lettuce and onions, and just enjoying the warmer weather!  

May you have a blessed week!

Until next time...

Taylor




Planting

I have appeased my desire to get something in the ground!  I planted some onions and lettuce today.  It was such a gorgeous afternoon.  It felt like spring!!!  It was warm, with a gentle breeze enriched with the smell of gardening!  Ah!  So nice! 

The past few days we have been drooling over our new kitties...they are so PRECIOUS!!!  Susan is a wonderful mother...she will not leave them until they are all asleep.  (If one of them is still nursing, she waits until it goes to sleep!)  Isn't that the sweetest thing?  :)  Can you tell we are in love with these kittens???

I am thankful for the little joys God puts in our paths each day...the things we so often take for granted!  We are indeed blessed!

Enjoy the rest of your Saturday and may we prepare our hearts for tomorrow's worship!

Blessings!
Taylor



Kitten Pictures

The kittens are doing well this morning!










The kittens are here!

After being very miserable this morning, our sweet cat Susan had her litter of kittens!  (All five of them!)  She is happy that they are here and is resting peacefully!  As of now, all the kittens are healthy and moving around.  We are excited!  There are three solid black ones, one vanilla, and one yellow!  Here's a picture of the proud mommy and her kittens!


"Eight Instruments and Four Friends"

I have such a sweet cousin!



Hearts on Things Above: Eight Instruments and Four Friends:

The Lord must have smiled on us today as I just returned from a lovely afternoon making music and spending time with my dear cousins and sister. We basked in the enjoyment of the sound of two violins, two mandolins, two guitars, a viola and a banjo. It was truly so very fun to just start playing and singing.



I am so very blessed to have such wonderful friends, that happen to be my family! We wouldn't know what to do without each other! We are the same four that have played in the algae waters of our creek, trudged the snow laden hills, played Apples to Apples more times than imaginable, made mud pies with the red North Carolina earth, ran from snakes, drunk over-chocolaty hot chocolate, and lived with the knowledge that the other three are always nearby. Life just wouldn't have be the same without them. God gives us people like that to love and to be loved by. They are a prayer warriors. They are the best still; the best even though things have changed and we're older.

So I've come to say, be thankful for the Christians in your life, the ones that hold you up, put a smile on your face, argue sometimes, make mistakes, but love always and give. I am thankful for a Mom that loves me so much that she stays home to teach me the Truth, a Daddy who is an example of what a father, husband and pastor should be, for a sister that loves me even when I fail, for my sweet Clara Fu that reminds me of childlike faith with her humble smile, and for my brother that reminds me of my patience :), for my tall PaPaw Brown's deep voice that makes every worry leave my mind, for my petite MaMaw's red lips that always say something to make me laugh, for my MeMaw's patience, for my PaPaw George's love for music that came to me. I'm thankful for the cardinal I see out my window at this moment, the aroma of meatloaf from downstairs, the sound of little voices, for the books full of knowledge surrounding me, the laptop I'm typing on to tell you this, and the mind I have to send these words through my fingers. I'm thankful.

To continue my ramblings, be a friend to someone who doesn't deserve it. Appreciate the ones who still love you. Smile when you're sad. Love because He first loved you. If you're a child of the King, you're blessed. Be thankful. Now go hug someone.

I love you Taylor, Leah and Kandace. You are special and I'm thankful for you all.


----I love you, too, Katy!----


Katy, Kandace, Leah, and Me

Garden Photos

We have been busy the past two days (Thursday and Friday) getting our raised beds ready for planting!

Here are some photos!

(Thursday)-Building the Boxes for the Raised Beds

(Thursday)-Measuring the Boards

Just had to show you the pretty daffodils!

My Daddy...he's the best!

Tilling the ground for the beds!

Thank you Daddy, Momma, and Leah
for all your hard work and help!

Happy to have everything finished!

"Hello" from our lazy kittens, Jubilee, Mary Rose, and Peter! 
(Susan is usually out there, but she's in the house...she's due any day now!)

She'll be glad to have these kittens!  I'll keep you updated!

Have a blessed day of rest and worship, tomorrow!

Love,
Taylor



Starting on the Garden

Yippee!  We started on the garden today!  Well, we just tilled part of it, but at least we're getting the ball rolling!  Here's a picture of me taking a turn at the tiller.  (Daddy did the first round, then Leah and I took a turn the second round, and then Daddy finished up.)



We have been planting in this spot for several years, so the soil is rich and fertile.  In my new plots (we are going to do some raised beds this year), I'll add my compost from the pile that I started last year.  (If you don't compost, I would suggest that you start!  It's a great way to get rid of your raw vegetable/fruit scraps, leaves, old dirt, and other stuff, and it doesn't take a complicated science to get some results!  Just do some research...you can get as fancy or simple as you want!) 

I'm thinking about planting some new things this year and planting more herbs than I normally do.  I am going to try planting basil near my tomatoes...I have read that it makes the tomatoes sweeter while repelling certain insects.  Sounds good to me!

Oh, before I forget, here are some pictures of the dress I made last night...

Sewing the bias tape on...

Topstiching the bottom piece.

(I am going to get a better view...do you like my curtains?)
The finished product...a cute, spring green, size 2T pillowcase dress!


I am looking forward to posting pictures of our garden progress!  The daffodils are blooming here in the Foothills of NC!  Spring is right around the corner!

Blessings to you!
Taylor


Ready...set...sew!

I'm getting ready to get on my sewing machine and sew!  A dear lady gave me some fabric to make dresses for "Little Dresses for Africa."  LDfA (as they abbreviate it) is a 501(c)3 Christian organization that sends pillowcase dresses to young girls in Africa.  (Visit their website at http://www.littledressesforafrica.org/blog/ and look at all the beautiful pictures of the little girls and their dresses!)  I have made one dress already, but I might get started on another one tonight! 



If you enjoy sewing, this is a great way to do what you love and also impact a life for the cause of Christ!  

Thank you Miss "Joanie" for the fabric stash!

Talk to y'all soon!

Taylor