Hollyhocks @ Sunset

After my son Shawn picked up Emolyn this evening,

I quickly grabbed my camera and captured these golden hour moments.

Nothing like Hollyhocks @ sunset.

Every day I wake up to a new color that leaves me in awe of God's artistry.

And every day I wake up and I am easily overwhelmed and anxious at life in general. So I have a choice. Do I choose to believe by faith that God is good, no matter what? Or do I trust in my plans?
Lots going on this weekend.
Lots that require being fully present.
Our 22 year old son Tyler is being sworn in to the Marine Corp in the morning. I'm a Mom, so I am proud and scared all at the same time.
My friend Linda, the other Linda Larson is visiting from Wisconsin. Can't wait for us to perform at the Hand in Hand Reunion on Saturday! We have not sung together in several years. But it will be as though we never stopped. I just know it.

blooming

Thanks for your prayers. The weekend went so well.

You know how it is, you don't have to be but an hour out of town 

and you can already look back and clearly see things I couldn't see while I was back there.

Throughout the weekend I had several epiphanies... light bulb moments... 

where the Lord clearly opened the eyes of my heart and I felt His renewed hope.

This is the marriage retreat teaching team

and I can't believe I get to do life with these dear friends.

It was 32 degrees when we woke up Sunday morning... 

but there were clusters of daffodils all along the creek.

Now excuse me while I go outside and take photos of my hollyhocks and Lady Banks Rose.

YES! They're blooming beautifully!!

marriage retreat

Randy & I are teaching at a marriage retreat this weekend.

We are so looking forward to heading up to Kohl's Ranch
and being a part of God's plan in the lives of these dear couples.

And well, you know how much I love a road trip.

But I gotta tell you, we are both feeling pretty overwhelmed with life at the moment 

and desperately needing to get away.

It's a busy season and doesn't look to slow down much.

We are praying that we can take this time to reconnect and unit in our desire to finish well,

and let the material we teach minister to us in a powerful way.

And quite frankly, there is nothing that moves me more 

than hearing the truths my husband teaches. 

I am feeling rather weak and tired and empty right now,

so this weekend could not come at a better time for me.

If you think of it, pray for the teaching team and the 13 couples that are coming.

Thanks so much.

SuperMoon

my handsome, hiking husband

We live mere minutes from the 48th Street entrance to South Mountain Park.

With close to 17,000 acres, it’s no wonder that Phoenix, Arizona’s South Mountain Park 

has been referred to as the world’s largest municipal park.

I love, love, LOVE hiking

So naturally we would hike up one of our favorite little spots closest to the park entrance,

to watch the SuperMoon rise up over the Superstition Mountains on Saturday night.

First of all, Phoenix gets maybe a handful of cloudy days each year,

so wouldn't you know one of them would be the night of the SuperMoon.

But we took a chance that the clouds would move out in time for the big reveal.

And we were thrilled when our son Tyler showed up just as we were leaving

and decided to join us.

Nothing like watching the city light up the night life.

I always wonder where everyone is going... what everyone is doing...
and fully aware of the good and evil that abounds in a city this size.
I always feel compelled to pray as I overlook such a vest expanse of humanity.

Finally the SuperMoon peaks out from the mountains and the clouds begin to dissipate, 

and there it is, in all it's glory.

And none of my pictures can begin to do justice to the grandeur of that moment.

quirky containers

The shelving unit on the counter in my sewing room is our old waterbed headboard.

Perfect for displaying my quirky collections in unconventional containers.

It's all about recycling and repurposing you know.

Hey, if it works for nails & screws, why not buttons and baubles.

~ apothecary jars filled with wooden spools ~

~ lime green colander filled with clothes pin wrapped trim ~

~ vintage tea cups & creamers ~ cup cake pans ~ IKEA jars

~ vintage travel cases ~ red metal tool box ~ gym baskets ~

~ vintage Pyrex ~ tea towel ribbon holder ~ galvanized garden containers ~

Love linking up to ~

SHOW AND TELL FRIDAY

FRUGALICIOUS FRIDAY

SHOW OFF YOUR COTTAGE MONDAY

recyled blue jeans

I recently found these photos of my friend Linda & I. (I'm on the right)

It was September 1977 and we were mere moments from taking off for Phoenix, Arizona.

We had sung at our little Lutheran church and said good bye to our friends & family.

And yes, I made our matching denim outfits that summer.

The vests & blazer were made from old blue jeans my Dad and brothers had worn out.

I loved recycling and repurposing even way back then.

Years later I had Mrs. McGillicutty assist me in a little photo shoot.

My sewing garments from the 70's seem to fit her much better anyways. Mmm...

We literally got in that baby blue Opel and took off for Phoenix after this little photo op.

You can catch the whole story HERE.

And check out our trendy cute shoes! Clic the top pic for a better look at my platforms.
I'm tellin' you, 70's fashion is back!
But seriously, what's up with our floral shirts. A bit much if you ask me.
Linda & I will be reunited in a couple weeks at the Hand in Hand Reunion!

Tyler's 22!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TYLER!

My son is such a fine, good young man.

I could not be more proud of who he is and what he is becoming.

Tyler @ 11 years old

Tyler has wanted to be a Marine since he was a young boy.

Tyler @ 22 years old

And Lord willing he will someday.

I can tell you one little girl that would miss him like crazy.

And so will I.

~ Love you Tyler Christian Thompson ~

citrus blossoms

It happened. The orange blossoms have burst and the fragrant scent is intoxicating.

And the cool thing is... those orange blossoms will be oranges next year...

... even though this years oranges are still waiting to be picked.

I made my first pan of lemon bars from this years crop of lemons.
My aunt Marion from WI & my cousin Connie from New Mexico came for a visit
and we had more fun treasure hunting
and eating warm lemon bars in the van. (it was in the mid 80's)

Check out our mulberry tree below. Every day more and more leaves spring forth,

and I'm thinking I need to spring into action myself and get some projects checked off.

You see, here in the southwest, we know what's coming.

Hot, real HOT and blasted HOT!

So my goal is to make a way to park our van in the garage...
before the garage registers 150 degrees...
or the van parked outside registers 200 degrees in the dead-of-summer.
In all honesty, if you saw my garage, you would know that is no small feat.
So. Today I feel inspired. Not sure how long it will last. But here goes nothing...

spring has sprung

• spring has sprung. And I'm lovin' it.
• arugula is the best and I didn't even know it existed a year ago.
• got an old, comfy wicker chair yesterday for a dollar.
• I am not happy that it's going to be in the 90's this week.
• I need to clean out the garage before it's too hot to do so.
• my baby turns 22 on Wednesday.
• my favorite little thrift store is closing.
• I know you already know... but say it ain't so.
• went on a preschool field trip to Tolmachoff Farms.
• so much fun!

Me & Elsie

Farmer Emolyn 

burlap feed sacks

I LOVE BURLAP!

And not because I jumped on the burlap band-wagaon decorating craze.

I grew up on burlap.

Burlap reminds me of summers on the farm.

Every week Mom, me & my brothers would take a truck load of corn & oats
to the local feed mill.

The mill would grind up whole cobs of corn and raw oats for feed.

And then fill burlap feed sacks with the ground feed... that would later be fed to the cows. 

All this took well over an hour... and we'd spend that entire time
playing across the road... in the little Lutheran cemetery.

And let me tell you, I knew that cemetery well.

I knew where the youngest baby was buried.

I knew where the oldest headstone was.

I knew where the soldiers were buried.

And I knew where generations of local families lay.

My Mom taught us proper cemetery etiquette, and we would do our best to comply.

To this day cemeteries are a peaceful, calming place for me.

Ok, so how did I get from burlap to cemeteries?

And now weddings back to burlap?
Stay with me...

So this past weekend we attended a wedding at a new venue outside Phoenix.

~ BELLA GIARDINO ~

Chad & Erica could not have found a more beautiful place to marry.

As the ceremony ended we all became aware that we were surrounded by hot-air balloons!

Talk about the ultimate in wedding decorations! And at no cost! ha!

But as we walked into the reception hall, we saw a wall of these...

oh my gosh, have you ever seen anything so adorable!

And the burlap bags were filled with seeds!

And could these tags be any cuter! (lovin the lowercase r & e)

We were tickled to be assigned to the Mt. Rushmore table. We love Mt. Rushmore.

Anyway, this morning I set out to find 8 yards of burlap.

I've been looking online and not too thrilled with the cost,

not to mention the shipping charges.

And I was set on a more vintage darker color burlap, rather than the lighter color you see everywhere.

So I went to SAS in Tempe and found THE color I wanted! (bottom of stack in pic)

AND $1.99 a yard!!

I am decorating tables for the Hand in Hand Reunion we're having in April.

Hand in Hand was a concert ministry back in the 70's 

and the stage we performed on was decorated in old barn board and burlap.

I could not be more thrilled to have found the perfect burlap
 to recreate the ambiance from those years.

The old Hand in Hand building was located at 26th St. & Fairmont in Phoenix.

I'm linking my burlap treasures with TUESDAY TREASURES!