Shoes and Cars

MotherH shared with me Sunday afternoon that two of her favorite things are the multitude of cars in their driveway, and the many pairs of shoes in the entry hall when we have a “birthday Sunday”…evidences to all the neighbors of our family’s togetherness…hospitality really does start at home.

A little post to let you know we're still alive! :)

Gayle is busy with her business- she now sells Premier Designs Jewelry as well as keeping up Refreshed Hearts.

I am teaching music lessons, filling out college applications, writing and playing my violin, etc.

Hope you're all doing well! Leave us a comment if you visit! :)

Heart of Giving

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
- Psalm 119:105 (NRSV)

I count "Aunt Sweetie" as one of my best friends. People call her Aunt Sweetie because she is a genuinely sweet person. Aunt Sweetie opened the doors of her heart and home to me 20 years ago. She and her husband treat me as if I were a family member. In good times and sad times, their children have shown me how much they love me too.

From the beginning of our relationship, their home was a haven, a place where I could retreat to regain my spiritual and physical strength. There I was surrounded by love, protection, care, and abundant hospitality.

On my most recent visit, my oldest son decided to visit me while I was staying at Aunt Sweetie's house for a couple days, and I had asked him if he needed the Bible that was in my bedroom for his morning devotional. "Actually," he said, "I used the Bible in my bedroom. It seems there are Bibles in every part of the house." Suddenly I came to understand why this woman had been such a powerful influence on me. The source of strength I find in this house lives in these people who embody the Bible's message of love.

-- A. Cantu de Canseco (Tamaulipas, Mexico)

Catching Up...

It is time to update our blog!

Okay... it's way past time. :)

This Christmas season, we enjoyed lots of R&R: Daughter #1 was home from school, and we were at Grandma & Grandpa's a lot (see Grandma's House post to learn a little more about our AMAZING Grandparents!) but we had busy times, too~ busy, FUN times!

Gayle decorated the tables & centerpieces for our church's Ladies' Dessert. Everything was beautiful~ she picked a palette of golds, bronzes, browns, and creams, and most important of all, she added lots & lots of SPARKLES!


We went shopping for glass plates & cups at all the local dollar & thrift stores~ we got some really good buys! We also bought a lot of snowflake doilies, and Rick, Daddy & Husband, spraypainted and glittered them ALL for us!


Next, Gayle purchased dessert servers (an elegant two-tiered design in soft bronze), and festooned them with brown & cream snowflake ribbon, with little gold berries twined in-between them.

Our pastor's wife had already given us matching paper napkins & glittery bronze candles~ everything was starting to look wonderful! We finished with beautiful cream tablecloths that were used in the pastor's son's wedding, soft gold embossed papers to slip under each dessert server, and everything looked marvelous!


Mom did an amazing job, and I had such fun helping her. She has been making beautiful little ornaments this Christmas, using little glass frames, ribbons, & sparkles. For the Christmas dessert, I came up with an ornament design on the computer, and we made little ornaments for everyone to take home.

Our theme was "My Soul Magnifies the Lord", and so I tried to bring that into the two designs we chose. It was FUN!!! If you would like the images that I used in the ornaments, let me know, and I'll post it on the blog. :)



After the Christmas Dessert, we spent several weeks just savoring our time together, and did not do very much. As soon as January began, however, things began to pick up again.

I have been making little Valentine books for a local antique store. Hopefully people will like them. I have had lots of fun creating them! Here's a sneak peek:


I am also in the midst of updating the Refreshed Hearts website~ if you want to see what it's going to look like, visit this link. I have not done the home page yet. :)

Since Christmas break is over, Mom/Gayle is homeschooling the boys. She is also in the midst of an exciting room makeover in our basement.

I will have another update soon~ God bless you all!

~Gayle & Gracy

Office Christmas Party

The table is set with Christmas plates, green & white paper napkins,
and our everyday silverware. When I took this picture, I had not yet
put on glasses!

Hospitality is a gift. You can give it to anyone, anywhere, at any time.

It doesn't require a long & strenuous day of decorating & baking! All you need is to open up your home, and make people feel like family.

Every year, we try to have an Office Christmas party, and all my father's employees are invited, as well as their families & friends. It's just a way to say "Thank-you" to them.

Mom's sweet centerpiece~yes, those are marshmallows!!!
The cake stand is resting on a little silver tray, and the Bible is opened to the Nativity Story in the book of Luke.

This year, we had Spaghetti and Grandma's Special Spaghetti Sauce *recipe in upcoming post*, and everyone brought a salad, bread, or dessert. YUM! There was apple cider & sparkling cranberry punch to drink, as well as coffee to go with the brownies & ice cream Becky brought.

Everything was easy & simple, but the time we enjoyed was very precious. As people walked in the door, I realized that everyone who worked for my Dad felt at home in our house. They knew where everything was, could sit down & relax without feeling hesitant, & encouraged their children to join in the conversations.

This little drink buffet was sitting right beside the dinner table, so people could easily
refill their cups, and choose what they would like to drink! It helps eliminate some time & mess.

I am just beginning to figure out a very simple truth~ your home doesn't belong to you. It belongs to Christ, and through Him, it belongs to every single person who walks in your door. It's a Sacred Trust, a servant's gift to his Master, one never to be withheld.

Merry Christmas!!!

Winter Wonderland...

The day after Thanksgiving, a sparkling tree appears in our front parlor, with all the twinkling splendor of a Nutcracker Fantasy.

It stands proud and tall, with each branch bearing a different story...

When I was little, our Christmas tree was magic. Every ornament held a meaning, a fantastical tale or adventure, a personality of its own.

I took pictures of some of these precious things:

Father & Mother's Wedding Picture

"Twelve Days of Christmas" Ornament that used to be my grandmother's


One of the many ballerinas that grace our tree

Baby Brother

Delicate Little Ballet Slippers

Another Ballerina

What keepsakes/traditions do you have at Christmas time that remind you of your childhood?

~GRACY

Giving Thanks

We celebrated Thanksgiving at my grandparents' home this year.

The house was beautifully decorated in golds, reds, browns, & oranges, and the smells that wafted from the kitchen were tantalizing!

Our entire family (+1 boyfriend & 1 friend) was there, and it was fun to watch the youngest cousins ooh and aah over the giant turkey.

I took some pictures of the Thanksgiving table that Grandma decorated:


Some kids ate a little TOO much, maybe??? :)


Psalm 100 says:

Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands! Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. Know that the LORD, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.

This season is such a reminder to give thanks, as we prepare to celebrate the birth of our Savior! We are thankful for YOU and this blog, as it has introduced us to so many new friends! :)

~ GRACY

Kreativ Blogger Award

Thank you, Karla, for nominating us for this award!

When you are nominated, you are supposed to:

• Mention the blog that gave it to you.
  
• Comment on her blog to let her know you have posted the award.
  
• Share 6 values that are important to you.
  
• Share 6 things you do not support.
  
• Share the love with six other wonderful blogging friends
  

6 values that are important to us are~

• Charity
  
• Generosity
  
• Service
  
• Trustworthiness
  
• Integrity
  
• Kindness

6 things we do not support are~

• Abortion
  
• Adultery
  
• Child Abuse
  
• Pornography
  
• Profanity
  
• Same-sex marriage
  
• Slavery
  

(I copied Karla's, because she stated it so well! I did add one, though, so I have seven!)

We would like to nominate~

Rene @ Miss Gracie's

Grace @ Miss Gracie's Sweet Shoppe

Sandy @ 4 Reluctant Entertainers

Deby @ Apples of Gold in Pictures of Silver

Farrah @ Light in the Sphere (LOVE your new header, Farrah!)

Katie @ Girl Gone Glad

Preparing for the Christmas season~ expect lots of recipes, place setting & table arrangements, and fun events to come! :D

Love to all of you~

Gayle & Gracy

Getting ready for Thanksgiving!

Fun Recipes to try this Thursday:

Gingerbread ( Miss Gracie has a wonderful recipe for gingerbread!)

Pumpkin Pecan Waffles with Cranberry Butter (William Sonoma's Baking Cookbook)

Pecan Butterscotch Cake with Maple Frosting (Martha Stewart Living Magazine)

Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies

Enjoy this blessed season with your dear ones~ may the Lord fill your hearts with things to be thankful for as you celebrate!

~Gayle & Gracy

A Young Woman's Hospitality

"Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder. And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up.

And the servant ran to meet her, and said, 'Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher.'

And she said, 'Drink, my lord': and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink.

And when she had done giving him drink, she said, 'I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking.'

And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels. And the man wondering at her held his peace, to wit whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not.

And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold; and said, 'Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee: is there room in thy father's house for us to lodge in?'

And she said unto him, 'I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor.' She said moreover unto him, 'We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in.'

And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the LORD."



I love this story. Not just because Rebekah's kindness ensures her a rich husband, either. ;)
Rebekah was an unmarried women with no house of her own~ however, she offered what she had to a stranger who was needy.


>She served him
>She served his camels
> She offered him shelter
> She poured out kindness and courtesy


But did these reflections point to Rebekah? Who were they to glorify?
ALL the glory was God's. Remember what Eliezar prayed for:

"O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham.
Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water:
And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master."

God answered the servant's prayer, miraculously, generously, and beyond what Eliezar had hoped for. Rebekah's willingness was used by the Lord in a way that she never could have expected!

May the hospitality we offer be a gift from God to those we minister to! No service is too small~ all Rebekah offered to do was give water to a thirsty man.

Gold Dust: Part II

To whom should we give our love and devotion?

First, to those of our own family, and whom God has given us to be our support and consolation.

There, in this little circle, may the heart’s daily work be done; if we only dry a tear, spare someone fatigue, or raise a smile. It need not be a great work, but is must be a daily one.

The day that passes without having done good to someone is a day wasted.

You can never be happy as long as you know that some member of your family is suffering under some trouble that you might have spared them.

Oh! Then, let your heart each day expand and overflow in kind words, comforting sentences, loving smiles, little gifts – ever so little though they be, still let it give! The heart needs as much the power to give as the lungs need air to breathe...

Gold Dust

My own Grandma left behind a tiny volume entitled “Gold Dust” which my father gave to me after her death. In the preface it says, “This little book is a translation from a collection of devotional thoughts published in France under the title of “Pailletes d’Or”…the value of most of the thoughts seems to me well to deserve the term of gold”. Chapter 28 (XXVIII) is entitled, “Give the Heart Each Day Its Work To Do.”

Part I

The heart has a life of its own, and this life requires nourishment. If you fail each day carefully to supply it, it will experience pain and torture, just as the lungs would suffer without air to breathe.

The nourishment for the heart is love - love given and love received. Love is the outflow in deeds, more than in words, of the kindness and goodness implanted by God in the heart of man when He created him.

True affection makes us ready to give help to everyone, to minister to the wants of those around us, to try and lessen their troubles, even at the cost of our own peace. Love consists in little acts of kindness, little attentions, little deeds of love. Love is generous – not only sharing, but giving all. It bears all burdens – lightens all troubles – sweetens every trial – nothing is an effort, and it knows no weariness. Our Lord is an example of perfect love. “He loved us, and gave Himself for us.”

Love and Blessings to you all!

~Gayle

Fall-Inspired Centerpiece

The weather is frosty & brilliantly hued...

A smoky fragrance touches the air; you can smell the change of season, as odd as it may sound. It's there- something softly hinting at harvest & hay, happiness and...

Hospitality!

You may not have expected that- but it is the perfect time of year to be hospitable. Company instantly feels at home in a warm, fire-lit house, filled with the perfume of candles & comfort food (like stews, yummy pumpkin & gingerbread desserts, & apple cider).

As you welcome company into your home, here is a fun & easy experiment to try- these will look lovely anywhere in your home- as a centerpiece, a delicate touch for a mantelpiece, kitchen, or table, or a sweet detail on a coffee table!

SPARKLY PUMPKINS!!!

Simply spray mini-pumpkins with adhesive, & roll in fine iridescent glitter.

The result= a delightful, easy project that will complement the festive fever of autumn!!!


Enjoy your fall days!

~Gayle

Grandma's House

If you were to ask us kids where our favorite home-away-from-home is, we probably wouldn't have to even think about the answer.

Our grandma & grandpa's house!

We usually call it Grandma's House. I'm not sure why it's her house, not Grandpa's. But we've called it Grandma's House since I was a toddler.


It is a beautiful white house with navy blue shutters, surrounded by tall trees, and with a large green lawn in front & back, where the boys love to play football. There are always daffodils & tulips in the spring, roses in the summer, a beautiful magnolia tree, & crab-apple trees for the finches.


We have a big family. A really BIG family. And this family loves to have get-togethers. Can you guess where these parties take place?


Yep. Grandma's House.


There's always a big delicious meal, bunches of hugs & kisses at the door, & something sweet to go along with a football game or opening birthday presents (usually both).


But most importantly, Jesus is the center of this home. His love & generosity is exemplified everywhere, and TRUE HOSPITALITY is an almost instinctive gift as soon as you walk in the door.


Stop by sometime.


You're always welcome, and there's plenty of room-- both in this house, and in these hearts.

~Gracy

Company's Coming!

"Company, company!!! Where would we be without company?!"

~Sir John Middleton, a truly hospitable heart in Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility

New Layout!

What do you guys think of our layout?

It's still in process, but we're really enjoying the new look.

Hope that you're enjoying the beautiful fall weather!

New post upcoming; stay tuned!

-Gracy

Muddy, Messy Company!

Yesterday, my brother's best friends, Dan & Nate came over. I had been scrapbooking when they first arrived, but as I heard them playing upstairs, I began to feel... left out. ;) So I asked them to play football with me! And we had FUN. Here's some pictures of the game:

Dan making a touchdown!

The boys were pretty excited about this picture!

Although I get more excited about tea & a movie with my friends, or a fancy family dinner, I learned yesterday that hospitality consists of many different activities. Even football. Getting to enjoy your guests is a priceless gift that won't fade with time.

These boys are growing up before our eyes! It's a blessing to get to freeze that speeding clock, & watch them...

Have a lovely day!!!

~Gracy