Up To The Mountain

A couple of months ago, I was feeling discouraged..you know what I mean...life can be tough sometimes and you feel the weight of many burdens that can all the sudden be overwhelming.

I happened to go out with a friend for dinner during this time of heaviness...and shared some of my private feelings on this matter with her. 

I went out to dinner with her again last night....Cheesecake Factory...yum!  Pumpkin Cheesecake for me!  :)  At the end of our time before we went our separate ways, she said, "Carolyn, remember how you felt several weeks ago that life sometimes seems like it can be so overwhelming and you get tired?  Well, this song is perfect for you!"  Please listen to the song below ...if you are feeling discouraged and it seems to be a constant uphill battle, you will be blessed.  :D  I promise!

Be sure and turn up the volume!


~Up To The Mountain lyrics  Songwriters: Griffin, Patricia J.;

"I went up to the mountain because you asked me to

Up over the clouds to where the sky was blue

I could see all around me everywhere

I could see all around me everywhere



Sometimes I feel like I've never been nothing but tired

And I'll be walking till the day I expire

So sometimes I just lay me down, no more can I do

But then I go on again because you ask me to



Some days I look down afraid, afraid I will fall

And though the sun shines I see nothing, nothing at all

Then I hear your, your sweet voice, ooh

Come and then go, come and then go

Lord, telling me softly you love me so!"


Ahhhh!  He makes life worth the living...even during the tough times....because He loves me so!  :D

Galatians 6:9
"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

(That was several weeks ago that I was feeling a little blah....I feel happy and wonderful today!  I just wanted to share this special song sung by Susan Boyle because maybe you are finding yourself feeling a little blah today.  BTW, Excel training is coming right along (see previous post)!  PTL! Thank you for all of your words of encouragement!  So so appreciated!)
Linking with Spiritual Sunday...click on the little birds to be inspired and blessed!

Psalm 28:7

Hear Ye, Hear Ye, Read All About It!

LOL! I am just kidding! This news isn't really headline news.....but it is to me! :)

A Time for Celebration!



Do you remember I had said there was an awesome job opening that I was so excited about?  Do you remember that I had two interviews and I was waiting for a response?  Do you remember that the position was newly created and I would not start until January.....so I would not hear back until probably mid-November if the job is mine?

Wellllllll................

I went in for a third "chat" earlier this week with the lady I would be working directly under and .....
I HAVE THE JOB!  :) 
It has not been cleared yet with HR so it is 99% sure, I guess you would say.  I am so so excited....and I will be starting in mid-November! 

I will be working directly under a district manager of a Fortune 500 company and will be teaching classes as new updates are implemented.  I will travel around the district working with individual managers and their staff.  Did I mention that I am excited?  Yes, I am very excited!  :D

HOWEVER....

now don't laugh....

I have to really really brush up on Excel   :(   I took a course in college, but I have NOT used it enough to feel comfortable with using it frequently. every day.  Taking stats from other spreadsheets and incorporating them into a new one.  I know this is something a lot of people use every single day.  Everyone has told me....it is NO big deal.  Easy to learn.  But I want to MASTER this computer program....I want to EXCEL in Excel!  I want to walk right in to this position and manipulate this program like it was second nature.  I don't want anyone within the company to wonder and second guess their decision to bring me on!

Study, study...practice, practice, practice!

So what does this mean?
Well..... it means I will spend less time in blogland for a few days or so.  I will update with new posts as I can...but I won't be able to visit with all of you like I want to and make comments.  :(   ....I will be dedicated to learning this computer program in time for my start date at my new position!

I know it won't take forever to learn.... and with God as my source of strength and my provider, it is not a concern!  :)  I thank Him for being my Father, my Provider, my Shepherd, and my Counselor through my journey!

"Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup;

you have made my lot secure.

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

surely I have a delightful inheritance."

                                            ~ Psalm 16:5

I will post with updates and be around soon to comment on your posts!  :)  Thank you again for all your sweet comments of encouragement and prayers!  Blogland has the nicest people ever!!!

Psalm 28:7

Betsy McCall Paper Doll Day! :D

It is a rainy, rainy day!

That's okay... I love the rain!  :)

A time to come in from outside and spend some time indoors...

Maybe... 

• snuggle up with a good book
• sip on a cup of hot spiced tea
• wrap in a big wooly sweater
• have yummy beef stew simmering in the crockpot for dinner tonight
• children play quietly with crayons and coloring books
• classical music play quietly in the back ground
• time for reflection and pause in prayer of thanksgiving

What do you do on a quiet, rainy day?

Any ideas to pass along?

Since it is a rainy day, let's play with paper dolls!!!  :D

Betsy McCall Paper Dolls....they're the sweetest as they bring the sweetest memories!  :)



courtesy of http://www.thebleudoor.com/


Today's paper doll features Betsy from January 1953...isn't she adorable?  The little story is sweet too!  Click on the above picture to see it enlarged to read the story and to also print and cut out your paper doll for your little girl or granddaughter!  Please don't hesitate to visit the above website for more paperdolls!

Hope you have a wonderful, rainy day....I will be spending a quiet afternoon with my scissors cutting paperdolls for two special little granddaughters who love to come visit Gamma!  :)
(I have an update on my job interview...coming shortly!  :)  A BIG thank you for all those who prayed!)

Psalm 28:7

Zippity doo dah, Zippity AYE!

Zippity doo dah, Zippity aye,

My oh my what a wonderful day

Plenty of sunshine coming my way,

Zippity doo dah, Zippity aye.

Mister blue bird's on my shoulder,

it's the truth,

it's actual,

everything's satisfactual!

Zippity doo dah,

zippity aye,

zippity doo dah,

zippity aye!

I love children's songs....I really do! There is so much happiness and fun in the lyrics...also brings back tons of memories of childhood play! Do you know that when my children were little, I tried to see EVERYTHING through their eyes...all of the awe and wonder.

You know what happened?    .....It became a habit!  Everything became refreshed and new to me.  I somewhat, I guess you could say, was able to become a child again! It is such a joy to look at things with "new" eyes! There is so much wonder around us ....but often we allow the burdens of adulthood weigh us down; blinding us of wonder and God's beautiful creation...all the simple pleasures everywhere around us if we can take the blinders off.

Words of pondering that allows the blinders to come off:

Ephesians 4:26;29-32 (New International Version)
 26... Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry ...29Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.





Remember this song?  I loved this little movie from many years ago!  :)
I will be away for a few days but one last verse I want to leave to you....

"Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for ever more." 

                                           ~ Psalm 16:11

I am joining all the other amazing bloggers over at Spiritual Sunday...click on the little birds below so you may be blessed!  :)



May you have "eyes" of children today!  :)

Psalm 28:7

Oh Me, Oh My!! GiveAway Haven!

There are so many beautiful, ...hmmm, excuse me....ABSOLUTELY beautiful giveaways going on right now!

I can't keep this good stuff to myself!!  I just can't!  Sooooo.....

Anita is a very sweet and talented lady....

and she is having an incredible giveaway over at "Far Above Rubies"!

Mikasa Italian Countryside Flatware!

Click on the above pic for details!

~

One of my favorite people in the whole blogland is having a beautiful giveaway!

Rebecca's beautiful handmade items are exquisite as she adds so many intricate details to every thing she makes with such precision!

~

Lynn is also a favorite lady I like to visit and she too makes beautiful, exquiste pink treats!  She is also having an awesome giveaway!
Just in time for Christmas...a gorgeous Christmas stocking!

~

And then we also have a gal, Gloria at Happy to Be whom I just met today!
She has been blogging for 2 years and she is celebrating by giving away this:

click HERE to learn more!
~

Oh MY!  I feel like a child in a candy shop at Christmas time!  :D
So many pretty treats!
Click on each of the pics to attempt to become owner of any of these pretty treats! 

~

I have also met a new gal by the name of Rosemary!  Her blog is so romantic and dreamy!
She is having a beautiful giveaway too that you will not want to miss out on!  This bag is filled with beautiful treats!  Click on the pic to learn more!
~
Oh and don't forget about your Willard!
Click:  HERE
to get your FREE Willard from Susan Branch!
~

Hope you have a wonderful day as you daydream of the possibilities!  :D

Psalm 28:7

Willard has arrived!

Did you receive your Willard yesterday?

Oh, what is that you say?

You don't know what Willard is?? 

**gasp**

For those of you who don't know what Willard is....

*blushing for you*

Come sit down...

                       let me explain....

Now, you know who Susan Branch is, of course...right?? Huuuhhhh...you DO know, right??

Oh, lol, of course you do!!  LOL!

For a minute there, I though you had hesitated...

Well, now that we have that clear..

Susan writes a letter to her favorite people....and I am one of them!  :D

Yes, yes, you can be one too!

Check this out:  HERE

At the bottom of the page, you can sign up to receive each month

 a wonderful, fun, cheery, pretty, informative, seasonal, witty, clever, little letter

from a happy, vintage, artsy, talented, Martha's Vineyard kind of gal!  :)

You will thank me for telling you about Willard...you will!

It is fun to get something pretty in your mailbox!

Now go on... check it out!  :D

Psalm 28:7

An Autumn Quietness...

Good Afternoon to you!

  Here is a quiet little thought to bring quiet joy for you as our lives tend to be a little hectic sometimes...



                                                              ~Thomas Kinkade



There is a calmness to a life lived in gratitude,
 a quiet joy.

                                  - Ralph H. Blum

May you be able to slow down today and live in a calmness filled with gratitude...such a quiet joy!

Psalm 28:7

This Puts Life into Perspective....

The wedding.

Her name is Katie Kirkpatrick, 21 yrs old. Next to her is her fiancé, Nick, 23. This picture was taken prior to their wedding January 11th, 2005. Katie has terminal cancer and spends hours in chemotherapy. Here Nick awaits while she finishes one of the sessions...

Even in pain and dealing with her organs shutting down, with the help of morphine, Katie took care of every single part of the wedding planning. Her dress had to be adjusted several times due to Katie 's constant weight loss.

An expected guest was her oxygen tank. Katie had to use it during the ceremony and reception. The other couple in this picture is Nick's parents, very emotional with the wedding and to see their son marrying the girl he fell in love when he was an adolescent.

Katie, in a wheel chair listening to her husband and friends singing to her.

In the middle of the party, Katie had to rest for a bit and catch her breath. The pain does not allow her to stand for long period of time.

Katie died 5 days after her wedding. To see a fragile woman dress as bride with a beautiful smile makes you think... Happiness is always there within reach, no matter how long it lasts. Lets enjoy life and don't live a complicated life. Life is too short.



Work as if it was your first day. Forgive as soon as possible.

Love without boundaries. Laugh without control and never stop smiling. Please pray for those suffering from cancer.
 
I hope this story touched you as it did for me....I received this via a forward email from a dear friend.  I didn't know this little gal and her husband....but their courage to go on with the wedding and laugh and love...helps me to realize any of my little griefs are not worth the sorrow!  "Smile and be HAPPY!"...that is what I always had told my girls as they were growing up and even now!
 
May you smile and be HAPPY today!! 

Psalm 28:7

Fall Planting...

I have been visiting with my daughter and her family out of state for a few days.

They bought a newly-constructed home last Christmas on 2 acres which was farmland before the construction.  There are virtually no trees except the wooded lot line.

This weekend, we planted 20 trees and shrubs...including 3 weeping willows.

Oh, my favorite tree!!

I can imagine after just a couple of years as we sit on their pretty front porch, what the trees will look like with the farms and lake in the backdrop!

They have such a lovely home!

Of course, we planted bulbs and perennials, as well!

~

Now that I am home, I need to plant a little of this and that for my own home!

Are you doing any fall plantings?

Psalm 28:7

Mom's Clothes Pins



Mom's Clothes Pins



"Just a few more warm days that the laundry can be taken out!"

I am sure that is what my mother used to think as the warm days were coming to an end.

I wish I had a clothes line

.....how I remember the fresh fragrance of the sheets as I would go to bed that night after they had hung in the warm sun all day!

~

Have a warm and sunny day!

Psalm 28:7

Betsy McCall Paper Dolls

Do you remember Betsy McCall paper dolls?

Oh my goodness, I loved them as a little girl!  When the postman delivered our magazine,

I was so excited to be able to play with a new paperdoll!

It was just as exciting as receiving the Sears Roebuck Wish Book catalog in the fall and my sibilings and I would drool over the pages,

trying to decide on what we wanted for Christmas and then to narrow that list down.

Go HERE to see in PDF form

.....and to print for your little girl or granddaughter(s)!  :) 

You can go to this link and get all of the paperdolls that have been collected over the years by a special lady in Colorado!

What a treat!!

This particular doll that is featured today was from September 1952.

Her dresses are just like the dresses my mother had made for me when I started kindergarten in 1962!  :)

I remember the pretty little red school plaid and also the scalloped bib...

my mother was quite the seamstress!

~

It was fun going down memory lane with you today!

Have a happy day!

Psalm 28:7