Springtime hearts, flowers and love

Stopping along the way to look up

smell the blossoms

breath deeply

celebrate love

and

be joyful

♥

Our oldest daughter, Amanda,

is getting married this summer.

This past Saturday, the women in our family

and her closest friends had the best time ever.

Can you tell we had a "beach" theme!

The memory jar was a joy to create.

Each flower girl chose a special stone to put inside.

Rachael and I added seashells, sea glass, sand dollars and her favorite

east and west coast photos.

A really big hit were the Lightly Lemon Cupcakes {in the collage}

A super easy recipe from Bisquick.

They are sooo light and lemony!

These chocolate / almond cupcakes and Nutter Butter flip-flop cookies were fun too!

    What a snapshot is to your life, 

your life is to eternity, 

so wouldn’t it be nice if eternity captured you smiling?
    Robert Brault

~    ~    ~Wishing you springtime joy!

God bless you always,

Maria

fire and ice

-We've been waking up to this scene-

snow covered roads,

and

fiery skies.

The first days of spring here in the northeast brought snow,

cold air and a just a little relief with a few days of
long awaited sunshine.

It's been wonderful to have more sunshine streaming in my windows at school.

...And...
I love how the sun is still shining at 6:30pm.
Daylight savings time is a life saver!

...Let us keep walking towards the light my friends...

Sunrise photo taken by my husband this Thursday, March 21, 2013. 

Wishing you all God's sweetest blessings

as you continue to be a

blessing to all you meet.

♥
Love,
  Maria

Life is . . .

beautiful and full

 So much has happened since early autumn.
and
a wonderful JOY came to us at Christmas time.
...Amanda is now engaged to Nick...
He asked for her hand in marriage on New Year's Day and
he proposed a few weekends later.
We are all so thrilled.

Nick is such a sweet man.

They have known each other since childhood, and their love story is one to tell.

♥

Chris and I feel so blessed to have these wonderful men in our family. 

Our son, Jason; Rachael's husband, Juan; and Amanda's fiancé, Nick.

So, wedding plans are well underway.
The dress and venue are chosen.

{A peek at the venue is in the collage}

♥

Early last fall, just after school started, my father, of 88 years, came to stay with us for another long convalescence.  

He needed lots of TLC and physical therapy...
He is doing much better now, and continues to need care and patience.

Dad returned to his home a few weeks ago and is making big decisions about these very tender years.
My siblings and I will be making lots of trips back and forth to help him in the meantime.

~

Just before Thanksgiving, I got away for an overnight to NYC.
It was a girls' weekend with Amanda, Rachael and Jason's girlfriend, Krystel.
We had an amazing time!

    Christmastime was wonderful with family all around.

Every moment was amazing.

Even the day after Christmas snowstorm was special because Jason hadn't seen snow in two years!

{Yes, it will be two years that Jason has been in Austin, Texas!}

 The sunrise photo I took on the way to work. 

I've been putting in 10-11 hour days and that is a topic for another post!

~

Our dog, Misty, is almost 18 years old and is very frail. 

She, too, needs a lot of TLC.  

Misty gave us tender love for so many years, 

she deserves our time now.
{Here she is, wearing her warm fleece vest, snuggled up and cozy 
with her life-long favorite toy, "Squeaky."}
 

I thank you for keeping in touch with me through this busy time in my life.
♥ and especially for your prayers ♥

I will be stopping to visit as many of you as possible this weekend.
♥ I hope life has been sweet to you ♥

Many blessings to you all!

Love,

Maria