Words of Advice from Susan Branch

If you haven't discovered Susan Branch yet,

you simply don't know what you've been missing!

I've been a HUGE fan of hers for many, many years!

I don't know which of her delightful books that I love the most...

all of them useful, charming, and inspirational!

And all of them chock full of recipes and her adorable watercolor illustrations!

I had to pass along her sage advice for finding happiness ~

after all, life really is all about the simple pleasures :)

No More Pencils, No More Books

Today is my son's last day of preschool for the year! This was a monumental year of firsts for him. He really thrived having more educational structure. Just one month into the new school year and he learned to recite the entire Pledge of Allegiance!

But it seems like just yesterday it was his very first day of school...clutching his backpack, ready to burst through the doors! And now that first year is just a memory now...

Last night he made each of his teachers a handmade card (sorry, but I'm an old-fashioned kinda gal that still believes in a handwritten note of thanks and appreciation) ...and we stopped at the dollar store to get some supplies to make each of them a little gift.

Gift checklist:
6 packs of colored pencils, some double stick tape, leftover ribbon from other projects, two empty soup cans, and some flowers from our yard and the grocery store and we made these:

I wanted them to be able to remove the pencils

if they actually wanted to use them at some point,

so I affixed them with double stick tape and a rubber band

the ribbon hides the rubber band!

Little gifts to say "Thank You" in really big ways :)
And now we look ahead to a sun-filled summer of fun!

This post is part of Tutorial Tuesdays on Hopestudios.

Love & Appreciation

We all have a need to feel appreciated. 

It'd be nice if we took the time every day to let those we love,

 and those that work so hard to make our lives easier,

know that they're valued.

Then maybe we wouldn't need the greeting card companies to nudge us

to make time once a year to say,

"Thank You."

I'm so grateful to have a very special little boy that loves me almost as much as I love him!

Now that he's 4, he has a much better comprehension of special occasions. 

This year, he took great pains to hide the Mother's Day presents that he had worked so hard on at school so he could give them to me on the actual day. 

He made his dad carry them behind his back

so I wouldn't see them when they came out of the school. 

And he announced that he was putting something in the spare room,

and I wasn't allowed to go in there for a few days.

So come Mother's Day morning,

this is what I awoke to:

Beautiful gifts of appreciation & love!

Handmade (from my son) and store bought (from my hubby!)

followed by a Mother's Day brunch together...

an afternoon of bike riding,

followed by a BBQ...

but most importantly,

time spent as a family,

lots of hugs and kisses

XOXOXO

surrounded by

love & appreciation.

Happy Mother's Day!!

I hope all of you were treated like queens for a day

and recognized for all of your many sacrifices

for everything you do!