I'm Still Here

I have been very busy. It has been a very hectic and emotional past couple of weeks. Things are going fast forward at this point and we are trying to squeeze so much in at the last minute. I had a mishap happen at the dentist office. They put a crown into my mouth that was much too light in color. I was so upset and now have to have it done all over again. I had told them that I was about to move in a couple of weeks, and somehow they made me feel as if it was my fault. The assistant told me that she had showed me the mirror and said that I told her I was happy with it. I never saw a mirror , in fact, I had to wait until I went into my car to look in my rear view mirror which I pulled towards me to check it out to see how it looked before I went back into the office to say I was unhappy!
So....back to the office I went the other day to have the crown drilled off and we start all over again. Not what I wanted to do with so many other things going on in my life.
I know so many people want to see me before I move away from Florida, but physically and emotionally, I don't think it will be possible. I am trying my best though. We will be going to our nephews graduation, which we look forward to, we are so proud of our nephew! In just over a week, our own son will be leaving for the  military.
To be honest with you, I am having a very hard time thinking of it all. I am very close with my son.
We have a wonderful Mother/Son relationship, and I am so happy for that. I love him so much!
I know he has to go on his own, and I am so proud of him, both I and his Dad. He has always made us proud.
It is hard, and will continue to be hard for me though. My little family unit is so important to me. I have never had anything much in the way of family except for my husband and my two children. They are my life.
I will have to learn to cope, for I want my son to succeed and to grow, and to have a wonderful life for himself. This is what every parent wants for their child.
Then, I will know for sure that I have raised him well.
I hurt with the thought of leaving Florida again. I know this time it is forever. We won't be back this time again. To live anyways.
Perhaps we will be by to visit. I love Florida, it is to me, my home. My husband prefers North Carolina, and it is beautiful there, I will agree. But...I just feel this closeness to Florida. Our children grew up in Florida and I feel so comfortable here.
I want my husband to be happy. I will adjust.

My son took me out to the gun range to target practice! This was my first time. I must say, I had a pretty good aim and I did very well. We had a nice day out together with lunch and also visited some thrift shops too..

I guess after looking at all these pictures on my blog, my crafting and now target practicing..I guess I am well rounded. I just laughed out so loud! :) Keep in mind I grew up with three brothers and a Dad that hunted...

We have begun the changes and preparations for leaving...our son gave away his old car....

Pictures are being removed now from our walls...

more packing is being done....the dining room is being cleared out...

I feel sort of numb..I cannot believe I am moving again. Although, I am trying my best to be excited. We do have a beautiful home we are moving to..it will just be so hard to move there without our son. I am glad however that there are enough bedrooms in it that there will be a room just for him for when he decides to visit...a place to call his own, whenever he wants to drop by, if he wants to. I plan on making it his own, with all his decor. I have found fabric with a "Navy" logo and I plan on making him pillowcases as a surprise to put on his bed. I look forward to doing this for him. I want him to feel that although he is out on his own now, he can always feel he has a home with us if need be.
Although things have been so hectic and busy, I am trying to find time to occupy myself, my hands and my mind on some other things, so as to not cry so much!
My beautiful niece is making her First Holy Communion soon...I did a little cross stitch for her which I will frame shortly..isn't it pretty! :)

Also, special friends of ours are going to be Grandparents to a sweet baby girl soon...so I thought I would make a pretty pink and white baby blanket for the little Angel's arrival! (I sure hope I finish it in time, if not I will have to post an IOU!) (Hi Jackie and Dave!!!) :)

So, as you can see, I have a lot going on...I am going to hold onto this next week and count each minute as an extra special blessing of special time with our dear son Patrick. Then, next up will be our move to North Carolina.
Sometimes I think it is all too much with our son leaving for the military, and us moving the following week, but then again, perhaps God planned it that way so I wouldn't have too much time to think about being so upset..I will be too busy and tired. I will all be ok, I know it will..it always turns out fine in the end.
After all, We have God, and I know that he is watching over us.
All our pictures are down..but we left the crucifix up...He will come down at the very end.

Blessings to you This Mother's Day,
This one will be my most special Mothers Day yet,
Louise

Backyard Visitor

Earlier today I heard a screaming outside...
I went to see what all the clatter was about.
There was this very large bird flying around, then landed in a tree. I ran to get my camera, and this is what I snapped:

I thought it to be an owl at first..it was up quite high, had to zoom in with my camera..
After looking at the photo, It didn't look like an owl to me anymore...I thought perhaps a hawk.
I am not so sure about either, if you look at the beak, it is straight and not hook billed.
It appears to be a young bird..although large in size.
It has the sweetest face!

Anyone know what type of bird this might be?
Louise
***Edited to add***
Thank you to Abbie for your comment...I looked at the photos of a Swainson Hawk..but not sure the markings on the chest are just alike or not..I did look up Red Shouldered Hawk and noticed the chest has the same color marking and horizontal lines as the bird in my picture. The straight beak stumps me though! Might just be the picture itself and it's beak really isn't straight at all...

Trenton trip with friends

Today was an awesome day!
I traveled with friends to Trenton Florida. We visited the Suwannee Shops
We had such a great time while we were there. The shop is big and jam packed with all sorts of stitching goodies.The scenery along our drive down was amazing...there were horses and cattle, and fields of green..

Here are some pictures from the inside of the shop...

We had a nice lunch at the little cafe just across the way...
The quilt shop is connected inside to the cafe. Lots of beautiful fabrics!

After eating our lunch..we browsed the beautiful quilt shop filled to the brim with gorgeous fabrics.
I heard a dog barking...then a cat meowing..then some whistling..I thought that to be odd for a quilt shop..but as I meandered towards the back of the shop..I saw who was making all that noise:

How sweet to see this adorable bird..watching everyone in the shop, he is so precious! He kept putting his head to the side of the cage so I could pet him...I was so surprised to find out his name was "Sunny"!!
That was the name of our bird that we lost last year. This bird was every bit as lovable as our bird used to be.

We also stopped in the antique shop....
many pretty things inside there also!

Way in the back there was a private "tea room"...so pretty in there...

 It was a beautiful day outside..the weather was absolutely perfect too..
we had a lot of laughs and a really enjoyable day today...

Here are the goodies I came home with...
Cross Stitch chart "Easter Line up" by the Trilogy
Wool Whimsy by Heart in Hand..look how cute this bunny is! I could not resist this little kit!
Thread Heaven
Assorted over dyed threads
wonderful pieces of fabric
a tiny scissor fob of a little strawberry
a small round tape measure with the Suwannee Valley Shop logo on it.

 Look at the wonderful ticking fabric I found! I am in absolute LOVE with it :)
I know I will put it to good use.
It won't be long before I will finally have a sewing room once again! I have waited many years for a little spot of my own again. There was an empty space in the center of our home that my husband is remodeling into a sewing/craft room just for me!
I am thrilled!!
Here is the beginnings of it...

He pulled up the rug that was there, and took down the ceiling to wall mirrors that were there. It is at the very raw stages right now, and doesn't look pretty...you can see the black glue on the sheet rock from the mirror panels. I close my eyes and can imagine what is yet to be!
I was so excited when I came home from my trip today to see what my dear Husband has accomplished so far.
Most of my stitching and craft stuff is piled up, I cannot wait to organize and create in my new room.
It is not a very big room, but just perfect for my needs.
I know how very blessed I am!

Raggedystitches,

Happy!

I am so happy today, I thought I should post about it! :)
The weather here in Florida is absolutely GORGEOUS! I have been outside most of today just soaking in the sun. Picked up some pretty yellow paint for our living room. My husband will start the painting tonight. I am so excited, I cannot wait to have some color on our walls! He has already put down all the wood flooring in all of the house. It looks so pretty!
As I look out our back door, I get to see something you may not see up north... There are beautiful Orange trees! Tasted one, and it is delicious. Many neighbors have oranges in their yards now also, it is the season for picking.

My daughter came home from school early today, I was so happy to see her. I took her out for a Mother/Daughter lunch date. We are going to go through some of the boxes in her room that still need to be sorted out. I cannot believe how many boxes still remain from moving that are unpacked!

I was so surprised last week when I saw my stitching friends for a get together. My dear friend Lynn gifted me with a new Little House Needleworks ornament chart titled "Under The Tree". I guess I haven't been paying too much attention..how did I not notice this was available! There is a sweet little Raggedy Ann holding a present on it!!! Lynn also included the beads for the popcorn garland that is stitched onto the design, along with a piece of 30 count linen.
I was so thrilled that I have already started stitching it. :)

I have also started stitching the 12 Days of Christmas by Jim Shore. This was gifted to me by Kerribeth not too long ago. She also included all the beads! This is going to be a beautiful design...I can tell already! :) I  know though, It will probably take me a long time..but it will be well worth it in the end :)

I am so excited with Thanksgiving coming on so soon. We will be spending it with lots of family. I have many plans for all sorts of delicious treats I will be whipping up, along with the old traditional favorites. Can't wait to be together with the ones we love!

We are still trying to decide which church we want to register to, we have narrowed it down to two we have been attending alternatively. We love both of them, it is such a hard decision! One of them has more opportunities for volunteering..that might be the parish we decide to register with.

Well, it is on to cleaning bird and rabbit cages now, must take care of our babies!
This is a wonderful day full of wonderful blessings. I am thankful for so much. It is a happy day!

Raggedystitches,

New Home, New Baby!

So much excitement has happened in our lives in the past couple of months. I have been one busy lady, with one very busy life! This will explain why I have not posted much as of late.
We have decided to relocate back home to the sunny state of Florida. We had a family meeting and decided it was the right choice for us. We missed Florida so much. We have so many family ties in Florida, so many friends here, and so many fond memories. Our children were raised in Florida, and the memories are so dear to our heart. We just couldn't stand to be away one more day. We have family here, and more of our family has also just relocated to Florida to be near us.
We are very excited! We found a beautiful home and are busy settling in. It is so exciting unpacking and decorating our new home.
The generosity upon our arrival back to Florida was overwhelming! Friends had meals for us, took care of our animals, and even unloaded two full trucks with us.
We continue to receive offers of help from everyone, even new neighbors.
We are very thankful for all of the goodness everyone has shown us, and we can see the work of our Lord in everyone surrounding us here in Florida.
We know for sure we made the right decision the minute we crossed that line into Florida!

There are so many craft stores in my town. This makes living here that much better!
A new quilt shop is opening up soon. I cannot wait! I will be visiting that shop weekly I am sure. I have already visited Michaels craft store and a Hobby Lobby, right down the block from our new home! I also visited the local stitching shop.
Yes, living here is pretty much heaven on earth.
I am one lucky woman! :)

As they say, New home, New baby , right? Well, yes, in a way, sort of!
We did acquire a new baby today! But not the human type...the feathered type. :)
We know Andy has been lonely since Sunny had passed on, so we decided to purchase another bird.
I took our daughter to the pet shop today and she picked out the prettiest parakeet. Blue and white, and oh so sweet! She decided to name her "Misty".
Andy and Misty get along really well, and they are very happy together.
:)

We are all very glad things worked out so well for us, and know that it was all in God's plan for us to come back home to Florida.
We are truly Blessed, and so very HAPPY!! :)


RaggedyStitches,
Louise

Florida

Recently we went on a trip to Florida.
It was nice to go back and visit with old friends. It was so good to see all the familiar places again. It really does feel like home to us.
We didn't realize how much we had put down roots there till after we had left.
Lots of memories were made in Florida..
I snapped some really great pictures on our visit. They have the most unusual looking birds around the area. So much fun to see!
You know you are in Florida when you see the palm trees and the moss hanging from all the trees.
I didn't notice any little lizards running around, but then again I wasn't really looking for them..they are usually everywhere! It was pretty cold out while we were there at Christmas time..perhaps they were hibernating.

Enjoy the pictures!

Raggedystitches,