~~~~TIME FOR ANOTHER GIVEAWAY~~~~ ALWAYS KISS ME GOODNIGHT PILLOW

 ~ALWAYS KISS ME GOODNIGHT PILLOW~

 

I've been promising you for days and days now for another GIVEAWAY and here it is...

I  really had do some thinking about this one!  I've actually been toying with the idea of offering one of my GATHERING CASES (Vintage Train Case Makeovers) as an EXCITING GIVEAWAY, but before I do I have LOTS of little details to work out on just how to enter that kind of contest!!!

~SWEET PINKS and SOFT ROSES~

So...for now I've settled with offering one of my favorite Pillows of late!  This little sweetie simply says

"ALWAYS KISS ME GOODNIGHT"

and was fashioned using a soft icy pink cotton.  Not overly complicated and perfect for those of you who like less fluff and fancy!

(Left Click then Right Click to Copy Button)

HERE'S HOW YOU ENTER...

1. FOLLOW MY BLOG TO ENTER THIS GIVEAWAY.

2.  LEAVE A COMMENT ON THIS POST.

3.  DO A BLOGPOST ABOUT MY GIVEAWAY AND LINK BACK TO THIS GIVEAWAY POST!

4.  ADD MY GIVEAWAY BUTTON (directly above) TO YOUR SIDEBAR AND LINK BACK TO THIS POST.

FOUR CHANCES TO ENTER!!!

(Please let me know if you've done #3 and #4!!!)

~~*~~

The drawing to enter the Pillow ends June 25th.  You must have your comments and/or links done by that time at midnight.  The winner will be announced within a couple days of the contest ending.  No purchase necessary!

Have fun with this one and have a GREAT DAY!

Love to you...

~HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY FROM ME TO YOU~

~THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE~

Today our family is pausing to remember all the men and women who have faithfully and lovingly served our Nation.  You are NOT forgotten!

CLICK HERE to visit my past post celebrating the lives of the men in my family who have proudly served our country.  We owe them so much!

THANK YOU

THANK YOU

THANK YOU!

~~*~~

Blessings for a lovely day just living life to it's fullest!

Love to you...

~~~~~THOUGHTS ON A SUNDAY MORNING~~~~~ The Power of Your Words

~MY BELOVED and I~

Just before dawn I woke up with a blazing sinus headache.  With everything in me I wanted to crawl back into my bed and sleep the first half of my day away.  Not being one to waste a good morning I decided that even with the pounding in my head I'd get up and face the day.  As usual I began with a teacup full of my favorite tea and settled in for a bit of 'quiet time'.  I've become very protective of the hour or so I spend alone.  Whenever I'm forced to skip it invariably the hours in my day seem to spin out of control.

And so~ I began by reading a little devotional by Max Lucado that I've truly grown to love.
In "A Love Worth Giving" he says this:

~OUR ENGAGEMENT PHOTO~

"Nathaniel Hawthorne came home heartbroken.  He'd just been fired from his job in the Custom House.  His wife, rather than responding with anxiety, surprised him with joy.  "Now you can write your book!"

He wasn't so positive.  "And what shall we live on while I'm writing it?"

To his amazement she opened up a drawer and revealed a wad of money she'd saved out of her housekeeping budget.  "I always knew you were a man of genius," she told him.  I always knew you'd write a masterpiece."

She believed in her husband.  And because she did, he wrote.  And because he wrote, every library in America has a copy of "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

You have the power to change someone's life simply by the words that you speak.  "Death and life are in the power of the tongue." "

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue."

Proverbs 18:21 NKJV

~~*~~

Want to know what is honestly going on in my own heart and mind today?  

I'm praying for courage and strength to continue supporting my Mr. AGPMan as he works towards earning his long overdue Computer Science degree.  In what is already proving to be many, many hours spent away from home I'm finding I'm lonely for his presence.  His mind is deep in classwork and outside studying and I miss him very much...
(Even I am amazed at how much I'm still in love with the husband of my youth...)

And so...this morning I prayed to be a blessing to the man I love instead of wallowing in my aloneness.  I long to have a heart more in tune with Mrs. Hawthorne's and to lovingly place the desires of the one I love before my own.

Pray for me...

Will you?

Love to you this beautiful Sunday...

~MAKEOVER UPDATE- IF BLOGGER WILL COOPERATE~

 ~BACK DOOR REMOVED~

  

Before I update you on where we are regarding our latest remodeling projects I just have to say this...

After about 100 tries over the past couple of days to make ONE SINGLE LITTLE POST I finally decided to try going through my A Gathering Place Website to see if I could access my blog through my own BLOG BUTTON!  I clicked the LINK and WHAT-DO-YOU KNOW!  It worked and I was FINALLY able to sign in.

Now...we'll see if if this Saturday Post will actually POST!  Hmmmm...

 ~ORIGINAL BACK DOOR SEALED UP~

Also...does anybody have a CLUE as to where our followers went and if we are ever going to get them back?

OK...on to some FUN STUFF!

~MY MR. AGPMan DOING HIS THING~

Well...since we "chatted" last my Mr. AGPMan and I have been VERY BUSY!  I thought today I'd give you an update on where we are with our breakfast room and kitchen remodel!  We are still in the early stages, but everything we've done so far HAD to be done before anything else could be started.

~NEW PANEL-BOARD INSTALLED~

CLICK HERE to and HERE to catch up on past posts and for several "before" pictures!

If you've been following along you know we removed a window seat and installed French Doors and side windows in their place.  Today I'm showing you the pics that were taken while the original backdoor entry/exit was removed and then sealed back up!

~PRIMED AND READY FOR PAINT~

Here you see where the original backdoor use to be.  We matched the existing paneling that came original to the house (and I love) and then primed and painted it to match the paint already in the room!

~SWEET ANTIQUE CUPBOARD~

This charming vintage Pie Safe (or cabinet) was once upstairs in our guest room.  I used it to hold finished pillows, etc. for my website.  I painted her out (she was once sugary pink!) with my favorite COTTAGE WHITE PAINT (from Behr/Home Depot) and I'm loving how she looks standing proudly in her new room.

Why paint over the pink????  

YOU KNOW I LOVE PINK!  Right?

It's just this is our family room and the colors are soft and understated.  When I moved the cabinet in place the PINK stuck out like a sore thumb.  It had to go...

~BEFORE SHOT~

Here's a quick picture of what the room looked like before the French Doors were installed and the original backdoor was still in place!

~MAKEOVER SHOT AGAIN~

I can't tell you how much I LOVE walking in my front door and seeing something OTHER than my back door in front of me!  

CHANGE IS GOOD!

Presently we are STILL trying to decide on flooring.  We know the carpet and tile are coming out we just aren't sure if we are going to go with a tiled kitchen floor or use wood throughout the entire downstairs!

BIG DECISION!

Hope your Saturday was awesome.  I was sad I didn't get to join in PINK SATURDAY!  Maybe if blogger behaves itself :) I can take part next week!

Love to you...

~LOTS OF PROBLEMS WITH BLOGGER~

Yesterday I had trouble the entire day trying to make a new POST and I could not comment on any of the Blogs I visited.  Even though Blogger wouldn't publish any new posts it did allow me to add a comment to the Post from the day before!  Wow...frustrating for sure!

In addition...the names of all the bloggers following my blog have disappeared.  This is happening to LOTS of different blogs...

Mariette from Back To Basics has a great POST running on backing up your blog.  I do this routinely to protect my posts from being lost forever!  I encourage you to visit her page and to be diligent in backing up all your information!  I for one would be heartbroken if I lost some of things I've written in the past.

If blogger stays UP today I'll be back with my giveaway.  If it remains down here on my end I promise I'll share it just as soon as I can!

Blessings to you for both a HASSLE and HEADACHE FREE DAY!

Love to you...

~OKLAHOMA CHILD IS MISSING...PLEASE PRAY~

***UPDATE***
2:30pm Thursday 5/26

The body of little Ryan Hamil was just found a couple of hours ago.  Please continue to pray for this young family.  They've suffered a terrible loss due to our recent Oklahoma storms...xoxoRebecca

~~*~~

It's been over 24 hours since a tiny three year old toddler went missing after being swept out of his mother's arms during a tornado in Piedmont, Oklahoma.  Ryan Hamil has not been seen since a severe storm destroyed him home last night.  Sadly his younger brother did not survive the tornado and his pregnant mother and five year old sister are hospitalized in critical condition.

This news is overwhelming for us all here in our State.  People are searching far and wide to find this little boy...  We are all hoping that what was once lost will soon be found...

Please, please, please, please pray...

Love to you...

~A NOTE OF THANKS FROM OKLAHOMA~

~THANK YOU SO MUCH~

Dear Bloggie Friends~

Thank you to all of you who sent notes and emails to me last night regarding the terrible tornadoes and weather damage here in Oklahoma.  Your thoughts and concern for my family and I as well as the lovely people of Oklahoma are overwhelming.

Somehow, by God grace, we dodged any damage wrought by this springtime storm.  Both our children and their families are fine and I'm happy to say our brand new roof survived her first close-call!   It was ONE SCARY EVENING let me tell you!

Unfortunately, many of the towns not far from us suffered serious destruction and ruin and the latest reports are saying that several people have lost their lives.  I'm originally from California and I promise you I never once experienced a single earthquake that frightened me more than this storm did...

Please pray for OKLAHOMA!  One thing is for certain.  Lives here as well as those in several other of our States have been forever changed.

Thank you.  Thank you all.  And bless you.

Love to you~

~A NEW ROOF and a SURPRISE YOU WON'T BELIEVE~

My Mr. AGPMan and I purchased our Oklahoma home back in the summer of 1992.  At that time our La Chaumière de Briarwood was about 22 years old and was  good shape.  Except for the need for some serious updating we fell in love with her from the start!  Finding her and then qualifying to purchase her on my hubby's salary alone was truly a God-thing.  I was a stay-at-home mommy back then and raising my children was my total focus...   There wasn't a lot of "extra" money laying around to do much back in those days so it was important for us that the home be in sound shape.

~SEPTEMBER 2007~

(Pretty Green Shutters Rotted Away)

On closing day everything was in order.  Even though the original shake shingles on the roof had noticeably been replaced with composition shingles, the "inspector" (sent from our insurance company) assured us everything was in in order.  No roof worries and that made us very happy!  So...we happily signed on the dotted line and became home owners for the first (and only) time in our lives.

In 1997 after living in our home for about five years we had a major roof leak just above the left front window on the ground floor.  It occurred after a terrible storm and so we weren't concerned at all about our insurance carrier covering the damage.  Hmmmmm...

~FALL 2010~

Not knowing the proper way in which to make a claim, we called our insurance provider and they sent out their adjuster to inspect our roof damage (which also included interior damage to my piano).  After just a few minutes he knocked on our front door and proceeded to tell us we had roof damage but that it was not covered by our insurance.  He promptly denied our claim saying the original roof had been incorrectly installed.

WHAT?

YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME?!

WASN'T THIS THE SAME INSURANCE COMPANY THAT SIGNED OFF ON THE ROOF BEING IN INSURABLE CONDITION???

 ~NEW ROOFING SUPPLIES~

(The New Roof is NOT the SURPRISE!)

Again...being STUPID not knowing what to do or where to turn, incredibly we took the word of the insurance adjuster (remember...he was sent out by our insurance provider) and we paid to have the roof replaced out of our own pocket.  I don't recall what it cost us, only that it took ALL we had in savings at the time...  I remember only that I wanted to act like a raving lunatic was more than a tiny bit upset...

~HOW EXCITING IS THIS?~

(HOLD ON...THE INCREDIBLE PART IS COMING!)

In July we will have lived in our home for 19 years.  During that time we haven't made a single claim on our home.

A year ago (May 2010) Oklahoma had a terrible hail storm and truthfully thought no more about it.  We knew our upper roof was growing old and plans were already in the works to replace it...figured we'd redo the lower portion to match when we did.  We also planned to remove ALL the original shake shingles and re-deck the roof, etc.

~THE BANGING and POUNDING IS UNDERWAY~

Well...about three weeks ago I was in our front yard sweeping our walk when I noticed a neatly dressed man making his way around our neighborhood.  I figured he was some sort of con-artist salesman and to be honest with you I was trying to finish my clean-up work before he made his way to my home.

 ~OFF COMES THE OLD!~

I had my Miss Mollie (my tiny little YorkieGirl) outside with me and just as I untethered her she ran towards the shiester gentleman neatly dressed man who was making his way to my front door.

I came to understand he was a roofing contractor and as I was visiting with him for a few minutes he asked me if I knew if we'd had any hail damage from the May 2010 storm.

~OH MY GOSH~

(Sprayin' for WASPS!!!!)

I said I didn't know and that he needed to ask my husband about all that!!!

That is always my PAT-ANSWER!

I NEVAH, EVAH talk to people who force you buy things you don't want salespeople...NEVAH, EVAH, EVAHHHHH!

(I KNOW NOTHING-NAUTA-ZIPPO!)

 

Anyway...long story short hail damage WAS FOUND and the following week the neatly dressed man, a roof inspector representing us and one from our insurance company came out to determine just how much destruction the storm had caused.  All the men agreed we had major hail damage and so an insurance claim was made at that time.

Now...here's the fabulous part...

We ARE getting a brand-spankin'-new roof (fully and totally paid by our insurance company!!!) and this of course makes my guy and I simply over-the-moon HAPPY!

  But what makes all this totally incredible is this...

THIS IS THE FAN-TAS-TICO PART!!!

After visiting with the neatly dressed man and signing all the papers with him (now you know this is the same guy who was walking the neighborhood, right?  Are you following me???) my Mr. AGPMan and I sat around and visited him for a bit.  He was friendly and caring and we liked him very much.  Something just drew us to him and we trusted him completely. 

So...while he was chatting on the phone with the insurance company I couldn't help but listen intently to all he had to say...
It was then I also happened to catch his full name!!!!

For privacy reasons I won't share it here, but let it suffice to say it was UNUSUAL ENOUGH for me to recognize it immediately.

My eyes FLEW OPEN WIDE and I just stared at him!  When I regained my composure I said:

"Um...Uh...Hmmmm......Er...Um...Uh...

ARE YOU JENNIFER'S HUSBAND?"

INCREDIBLY the neatly dressed man was (and still is) the hubby of one of the girls that was a bridesmaid in my 1978 wedding!!!  Jennifer moved away and married the neatly dressed man after my hubby and I married and we had long ago lost touch with one another.  I had no idea they were even living in Oklahoma again...

Now...can you EVEN believe this?  

We all plan to get together for dinner soon!

I've shared this before and I will say it again...

I don't believe in coincidences.  I don't.  Not one tiny little bit.  I believe my steps are directed and ordered by the Most High and always have been.  My Mr. AGPMan and I were terribly wronged by our insurance company nearly 15 years ago and they were forced to make things right...  The incredible blessing on top of all of it (and I believe an unmistakable sign that God was IN THIS) was the reconnection with long-lost friends.

Life is amazing...Isn't it?

Once the banging in my brain stops and my headache goes away I'll share with you pictures of our beautiful new roof!  We chose black shingles and they are sure to look MAHVELOUS with the black shutters we installed last Fall.

Blessings to you for an AWESOME HAMMER-FREE DAY!

Love to you...

~NEW GIVEAWAY IS COMING...I'M JUST RUNNING BEHIND~

 ~PLEASE FORGIVE MY TARDINESS~

OK Peeps...Here's the scoop!

I'd love to tell you that I do GIVE-A-WAYS because I'm just a super-fan-tab-ulous girl :), but the truth is I do them to SELF PROMOTE my A GATHERING PLACE WEBSITE in hopes that you'll pop on over there once in a while and pay me a visit!

(Thank you to ALL of you who do and send your hard-earned cashola my way! It is very, very much appreciated! :)) 

Now...

JUST IN CASE YOU ARE WONDERING

I sell Shabby Cottage Chic Decor like Pillows, Sachets, Hand Painted Pink Rose Stuff :) and things like that!!!

Anyway...I ended up having a super-busy weekend CREATING and didn't get finished with my latest little GIVEAWAY OFFERING for all of you here in bloggieland!  I hope you'll allow me to beg-off for a couple more days until I can gitt-er-done.

>>~<3

Truthfully, I've been working on finishing up a custom Gathering Case (Train Case) Order (oooh....it's for a BRIDE!) and I've been busy putting the final touches on it!  It's kept me hoppin' but it's been sooo much fun!

I PROMISE I'll have something wonderful ready for you by Wednesday, OK?

Hope your Monday is awesome!

Love to you...

~~~~~THOUGHTS ON A SUNDAY MORNING~~~~~ When Your Heart Is Hurting

No long ago while visiting with one of my closest friends we had a chance to talk about the many wonderful things that have taken place in each of our lives as well as past hurts and frustrations.  We've known each other for decades now and the longer we chatted I could tell that she had been deeply wounded by the words and actions by someone she once greatly admired.

It was obvious to me her heart was hurting.

It wasn't difficult to envision my longtime friend and her sufferings.  I could see her in my mind as she worked her way through challenging days that oftentimes left her ripped up and torn down.  Perhaps the words and actions of her offender were intended to hurt and destroy her.  Then again, maybe not; but that didn't matter.

Not to her anyway.

My friend's wounds were deep and the pass of the bully-knife had cut deep into her bones. To the naked eye they weren't easily seen as most of her injuries were internal.  Her feelings were bruised.  Her emotions were shattered.  Her heart was broken.  She felt frustrated and alone and even though I could fully relate to many of the things she had openly shared, I felt completely incapable of helping her.

I was without words.

I only promised I would pray.

This past week was draining on my hubby and I and our days were complicated.  Finding even a few minutes to steal myself away for some quite time wasn't easy to do.  But, early this morning I was led to a scripture that once again returned my thoughts to my longtime friend...

  

"When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate...instead, he entrusted himself to Him who judges justly."

(1st Peter 2:23 NIV)

 I suppose it's human nature to want to get even with those whose goal in life is to harm another human being.

Is it any wonder why we need a Savior?

I'm reminded that unless I present myself wholly repentant before the Father, allowing the cleansing water of His forgiveness to wash over me completely, I will ultimately walk away with dirty hands...

I encourage you today, no matter what it is you are experiencing, to leave the judging to God.  Not only did Jesus avoid seeking revenge, he didn't even ask for an apology.  Unbelievably, he chose to defend his offenders.  The balm of his healing love was enough.

"Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."

(Luke 23:34 NIV)

Blessings to you this beautiful Sunday morning.  May your day be filled with peace, love and hope from the Most High~

(PS:  The pictures of all the churches were taken while in Nebraska last week.  The one at the top is my favorite.  The second one is the church my hubby and I attended right after we married in 1978.  They are ALL so beautiful and truly depict a sweeter time in the world...)

Love to you...

~WILL THIS KITCHEN MAKEOVER EVER END? NOPE, NEVAH!~

 Just a really QUICK (and late) blog post to show you that our Breakfast Room and Kitchen Makeover are STILL underway!

 In order the "patch" up the old back door entry/exit my guy removed the majority of the original paneling in order to match it without an obvious "add-on".  Quite frankly I'd rather have just had sheet-rock installed  instead of the wood-looking-stuff, but the thought of changing out the entire room made me dizzy...so~we are skipping the extra work and just adding a new piece of panel to the missing area!

 Gone...Gone...GONE!

 Glad my guy knows what he's doing!  I certainly DON'T!

These pics were taken a couple of weeks ago and now everything is back in place and looking lovely.  Can't wait to show you more!

Love to you~

~FORGIVE ME BUT I JUST CAN'T HELP MYSELF~

~DUNCE OF THE DECADE NOMINEE~

I'm asking for forgiveness in advance for being totally SNARKY here today.  But, I just can't help myself!!!  I just can't!  Now you know that generally I only write about creating romantic decor for the home, my faith, my family or my longtime hubby-love, my Mr. AGPMan.  I rarely stray from those topics because quite frankly they include all of my favorite things...

That said, giving ANY attention to the DUNCE-HEAD shown in the top photo is truly out of the norm for me.  I guess I'm just having a moment of intense disbelief here and just can't keep myself from stating the obvious...

WHAT WAS THIS DUDE THINKING?

(Oh yeah...he wasn't!)

Ruth Bell Graham

(late wife of the Rev. Billy Graham)

said this:

"A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers." 

Can't help but wonder if I could ever see clearly enough to even entertain such a thought...

"Oh the tangled web we weave

When first we practice to deceive!"

(Sir Walter Scott)

~~*~~

Blessings for a tangle-free day~

Love to you...

~AND THE WINNER IS.................................~

~SWEET SACHET PILLOW~

Matching Greeting Card and Pretty Soap, too!

On Sunday evening I'll begin another GIVEAWAY so I hope you'll come back and see what's new!  Thanks to all of you who left comments and to those of you who linked up with me in order to get your name tossed into the hat more than once!

One of you SCORED!

AND SO....THE WINNER IS:

STEPHANIE of ANGELIC ACCENTS

CONGRATULATIONS STEPHANIE!  

I'm sooo happy for you!

Please email me with your mailing address so I can get your sweet little gifts packed up and shipped right out!!!

Love to you...