a spring tea party

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 1:2

Our second annual church tea party was held on Saturday, 29 March, at 2 p.m. It was a wonderful event, filled with beautiful china pieces, fresh flowers, dainty napkins and scrumptious treats. Janie Tanton and her helpers prepared "easy" cranberry and blueberry scones, lemon curd, mock Devonshire clotted cream, chicken salad , cucumber, and creamed cheese sandwiches. I couldn't stop eating!

Distinguished sisters and friends fellowshipped in the Lord. The music was lovely.
Door prizes were won (not by me -- oh, well). The youngest party guest, baby Chloe, was a joy. Thanks for coming with your precious treasure, Ada!!



Nancy and I used white, ivory, pink and green on our "Mother Goose" tea table. The place cards had a nursery rhyme on one side, and the word welcome on the other. Nancy glued small feathered geese onto wooden baby blocks. Each goose had a pink or light green ribbon tied around her neck. The centerpiece was a spectacular small arrangement in white and pink by Suzanne, Mickey's cousin, placed in a musical tea pot.




A picture of Clarissa's "Royal Tea" table (below). Clarissa, I'd like to post your writing on the table inspiration. Wonderful connection!

Clarissa and Abbie getting ready the afternoon's performance. Bravo!

Very grateful to and for Christie McKee, Janie Tanton, and everyone else who made the tea party such a blessed gathering.
I don't want to rush time, but I look forward to next year's tea party! :)

Easter Bunny

After a more than satisfying and delicious breakfast at church on Easter Sunday (cannot even begin to describe the wealth of breakfast casseroles, fruit, rolls, muffins, and other treats) we went to Tellini's for a light lunch. There we were greeted by the Easter Bunny, a kind lady who gave the boys Easter eggs filled with yummy chocolates. It was her birthday. Thank you for dressing up like the Easter Bunny on your birthday and spreading some Easter cheer, kind lady. Eli was only partially excited, but Malachi - happy soul - was ready to have the best time.

Easter Sunday

Mark 16 (NIV)

The Resurrection

1When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body. 2Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3and they asked each other, "Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?"

4But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 5As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

6"Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7But go, tell His disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him, just as He told you.' "

8Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

The weather outside was quite chilly, but inside the church the service was filled with the Spirit and with praises coming from the full hearts of the saved. We heard testimonies from New Testament characters beautifully voiced by a group of talented and gifted church members.

Eli and Malachi didn't mind the cold during the egg hunt - which proved to be a very short one. Most eggs were in pretty baskets by the time we brought our boys outside from their classes. At home they opened their baskets dropped at the front door by the Easter Bunny himself! It was wonderful to have Nancy and Bob with us, to enjoy such a special day. The Lord is risen!

an Easter quote

In solemn state the Holy Week went by,
And Easter Sunday gleamed upon the sky;
The presence of the Angel, with its light,
Before the sun rose, made the city bright,
And with new fervor filled the hearts of men,
Who felt that Christ indeed had risen again.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

spring break 2008

Oh, what a glorious week! The simple fact that the alarm doesn't go off at 5 a.m. gives me much quiet and restful pleasure. The boys are well, and God has graciously sent us physical rain to wash over and nourish the thirsty earth around us. During the very first hours of spring break, i.e. Friday after school, I took Eli to a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese's, during which I was delightfully engrossed in conversation with some moms of first graders, blissfully consumed three slices of pizza, and ended the treat with some of the birthday girl's Hannah Montana cookie cake! (Thanks, Alexia, sweet girl!). To top it all off, when Mickey took Eli to baseball practice on the same night, at 7,30 - while Malachi was at Gran's house - I took a trip to the Family Christian store, armed with very precious coupons. I left the place at closing time with the following trophies: (1) a set of gorgeous little cards, (2) one card for Bob (Julianne, that's your papa, and guess what? I have already sent it!), (3) Charles Swindoll's Jesus, The Greatest Life of All, AND my most prized purchase, (4) The Apologetics Study Bible from Holman Bible Publishers. The version / translation is Holman Christian Standard Bible, c. 1999, which is contemporary English. I am very happy with the fact that all the pronouns, possessive adjectives, etc. referring to God are capitalized. To me, that displays more of the honor and reverence we owe the Creator and Giver of our life. let everything else be lower case, just like the latest trend in english seems to be (lower cases in this sentence intended). Why would anyone capitalize chuck e. cheese's and not the parts of speech connected to the name of the Holy One?

Now, more of this week so far. Monday, Mickey took off and looked after the children. That gave me time to go on operation "rescue the computer room", i.e. the room in which Eli and Malachi play games and I e-mail, blog, visit BHG.com, etc. Mission accomplished. The room has never looked so good since we moved in, almost a year ago. I have also accomplished other missions such as "rescue the guest room", "establish a hall gallery" (family portraits), "rescue the breakfast room", and "rescue the kitchen". As you can see, it's been a week of rescues. So far, so good. One would think that Dora's cousin, Diego has visited us. Oh, yes. I am also reading Magdalene by Angela Hunt. Thank you, Christie! I thought I knew what to expect, but chapter 5 or 6 took me entirely by surprise. Very clever.

Eli and Malachi dyed real eggs with real dyes at Gran's house. She's always good about it. She even made them Easter cards in which she stuffed two dollars, and mailed them to our house, one for each boy. Perhaps the Easter Bunny will think of other nice people, like the author of this blog, and send them Easter wishes coupled with a bit of hard currency, which has been less hard lately, but that's fine with me.

Easter Sunday promises to be full of beauty, even though the weather might be on the chilly side - high of 14C, with possible showers. We'll have breakfast with our church family, listen to our brilliant preacher (thank you, Brad, always; I am ever grateful for you and your family), take strength in the event of the resurrection, and enjoy the excitement of the Easter Egg hunt. Then we'll have lunch with Gran and Granddaddy. I think. Some of us might have a few too many chocolate eggs and bunnies, but who'll be counting? May the peace of God bless you. Thank you for reading.