WISE WORDS FROM MAYA

Gosh...I've had a really busy week!  While I'm collecting my thoughts I decided to share with you this wonderful book-page quote from one of my very favorite authors...

She's right about a warm hug or a friendly pat!

A friend stopped by this week and we had a few minutes of tender conversation.  After she left I realized God is always on time with His encouragement and blessings.

Still trying to trust the timing of my life!

Love to you...

Rebecca

~LESSONS LEARNED...ONE PETAL AT A TIME...~

~PERFECTLY PRESERVED HYDRANGEA~

It's so good to be back doing something I love...something I loved for a long time.  It's funny sometimes how unforeseen experiences can help return us to the very things we once had a great passion for...

Losing my cousin to cancer last month has helped me refocus on my life and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to once again find my voice~  I think I lost it for a while and if I'm being honest with you, a really big part of me wondered if I'd ever find it again. 

 ~HYRANGEAS FROM ZION~

Kathy's treatment led my Mr. AGPMan and I to Zion, IL, about three months ago and while I was there I noticed more hydrangeas than I'd ever seen in one place.  The weather was crisp and cold and snow was still on the ground.  The flowers had dried on the vine and I was sure that before long they'd be chopped down by some well-meaning groundskeeper if i didn't gather them up while I had the chance. Kath and my Mr. AGPMan waited in the car and I roamed the hospital grounds...

~BEAUTIFUL GROUNDS~

And so, while they looked on, I snipped away at every single Hydrangea that had weathered the blistery winter storms of northern Illinois.  By the time I was finished I had removed every single tattered bloom from the property...about 175 of the most beautiful dried Hydrangea flowers I'd ever seen. 

Did I ask if I could take them?  

No.

~TATTERED BLOOMS for a TATTERED SOUL~

I figured no one but some crazy woman from the state of Oklahoma (with a pension for such flowers!) would be interested in what most people view as 'dead flowers'.  The people there at the Cancer Treatment Hospital weren't interested in gathering flowers I can assure you.  Every single care-worn face I saw was a person just trying to get well...stay alive...and survive their latest round of chemotherapy.

 ~BEAUTIFUL KATHY~

Kathy was different than other patients my hubby and I saw.  She was so joyful and funny and thought that cutting down all those flowers was hysterical!  When I got back in the car she said "there's no room for you, Beck!  Only your flowers!!!" 

Had it not been for Kathy's thinning snowy white hair and swollen cheeks, you'd have never known she was ill.  She'd been diagnosed with bladder cancer a few months before and sought out treatment in Zion...it was there they gave her, and us, the greatest hope for her advanced cancer~

 

~KATHY and I in ZION~

I was more than honored to be a care-supporter for Kathy on the two separate trips I made to Zion.  The first time my hubby and I made the twelve hour trip by car (which is why I was able to haul all those flowers home!) and three weeks later I flew back to Chicago to meet up with Kathy and her big sister Cindy.

 ~KATHY, CINDY & I in 2005~

 ~COUSINS BEING COUSINS (KATH & I ARE ON THE LEFT)~

~BROWNIE GIRL SCOUT HELPERS~

It was on my 2nd trip to Zion that Kathy was told she would most likely succumb to her cancer.  The chemo wasn't working and her tumors were growing...

As I said goodbye to Kathy and Cindy a couple of days later the shock of her terminal diagnosis still hadn't completely set in.  We were dazed, confused and in total disbelief.  What we didn't understand then was that Kathy had less than five weeks to live.  She passed away on May 13, 2015 at the age of 56.

I returned from California about a week ago where Kathy's life was celebrated during a beautiful service attended by many loved ones and friends.  I ordered Hydrangea flowers for her family, one for each member, to be planted in their private gardens in Kathy's honor...

 ~SHARING MEMORIES~

Getting back to, well, breathing easy has been difficult.  Still...it's been during my greatest bouts of grief over losing Kath that I've been able to hear again the sound of my own beating heart as it keeps in time with hers...  

~IN KATHY'S MEMORY~

This past week while working on our kitchen renovation I was out tinkering in our garage and I found packed away, to the credit of my hubby, the dried Hydrangeas from Zion.  I had completely forgotten about them.  The perfectly preserved blooms rescued from a tiny little town far, far away home had found their way back into my life...

 

~CINDY, KATHY and ME~

Laying on top of the flowers was the card Kath had left for me...

It said this:

"To Beck...Thank you for sharing your heart with mine.  May you again find a way to share it with the world.

I love you the last #...  Kath"

Love to you...

~TO THANK YOU~ Thoughts on a Sunday Morning

 Before I allow the weekend to slip away I just want to take a second to thank you all who commented a couple days ago on the post about the Magna Cum Laude status of my Mr. AGPMan.  Your friendships have been some of the best I've ever known and your encouragment means more than I can say.

In the hustle and bustle of life, in the grand scheme of things the only thing that really matters is that we show love and are loved in return.  Ideally we should have at least one person in this world who continually blesses us and today I'm grateful to say I have many.  Thank you so much for your kind words and for your spirit of friendship. 

God, who makes everything work together,

will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

Philippians 4:9 (MSG)

~~*~~

On Saturday we worked at ripping out more of our old kitchen and spent some time cleaning our very aged duct-work as well.  With everything opened up we could see firsthand the 40 years of dust and dirt lurking inside the vent system.  It felt so good to remove the cobwebs, dust and debris from their hiding places...

Clean on the outside and the inside.

Reminds me of how I pray my heart will always be.  May your Sunday be blessed!

Love to you...

 

~SWEETNESS FROM GOODWILL~

~MY FAVORITE GOODWILL FIND!~
(Fabulous Old Rose Print)

While shopping at a pretty large thrift store (aka: Goodwill) in my sister's Tennessee town the most incredible thing happened (and NO it wasn't finding the amazing print above although that was pretty GREAT)!  I Honestly think this was a God-thing and the entire experience was both mind boggling and fun!

 ~MEETING UP WITH MISS PATTY~

I was walking up and down the store's aisles looking at a bunch of super-fabJUNQUE when a sweet little voice behind me said:

"Rebecca!?"

At first I didn't turn around because my sister calls me Becky and has introduced me to all her friends as Becky.  I was pretty sure whoever was saying the name REBECCA wasn't directing their comments to me...

Anyway, just to make sure I turned around ever so slowly only to find a lovely lady with blond hair staring at straight at me...

~BEAUTIFUL LADY~

Then she said:

"ARE YOU REBECCA?"

Now you must understand I was 650 miles or so from home and I couldn't imagine who would know me by my name, Rebecca!

"ARE YOU REBECCA FROM
A GATHERING PLACE?"

Right then (as my voice caught in my throat and I picked myself up off the floor)

I smiled big and said:

"YAH-ESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS????!!!!"

Come to find out the lady is a sweet blogger friend named Patty who lives in Tennessee (I think a couple of towns away) and just HAPPENED to be shopping at the same place I was at the very same time!  I couldn't believe it!  We've chatted by email before and I was thrilled to meet her in person!  Her handsome hubby was there, too, and I give him the credit for figuring out the camera on my phone (Thank You, Mr. Patty!)!!!!  He snapped this picture of the two of us because I'd left my camera in my SUV.

We stood there and talked for at least 30 minutes or so and shared and shared and shared.  I just love her to pieces and the unexpected meeting reaffirmed for me something I've always believed.  God directs our every step!  I never have and never will believe in coincidence.  Meeting Patty in person was meant to be and I was so blessed by her kindness and grace.  For sure a new forever friend!

Isn't life sweet?

Yes!  Yes it is!

Love to you this Monday...

~THE GIFT of FRIENDSHIP~

Christmas Day is getting closer and closer and like many of you I'm working on the final plans for celebrating the most beautiful event of the year.  For us it is the birth of the King of Kings, our Savior, Jesus Christ.  I've wrapped up selling my wares early  for the first time in years and it feels good to say "enough" a few days before I actually needed to.  Just about everything has sold from my website shelves and I'm so incredibly thankful so many of you found my work worthy of purchasing again this year.  Thank you never seems enough, but I offer up my gratitude with a very full heart just the same...  I love what I'm blessed to do in my life and I'm looking forward to continuing in 2012! 

 

About a week ago UPS delivered a very big box to my doorstep which around this time isn't all that unusual.  My Mr. AGPMan pushed the enormous thing inside and I stared for a second or two at the return address.  It came from an Oklahoma town and so that made it all the more unusual because it was from a 'company' and not a 'person'.

As I cut open the box inside I found eight more boxes neatly tucked inside...  Still not realizing what each of the boxes held I lifted out the first one and opened it up.

When I opened up one of the inside boxes and slid the contents out I was shocked out of my mind.  Inside each box was one of the plates I had been longing to find.  You may remember my post from a couple of weeks back where I talked about the charming Poinsettia plates from Andrea by Sadek I'd been searching for.  The local store where I found them went out of business and I hadn't been able to find anymore...

To tell you I was speechless and overwhelmed by the generosity of this gift doesn't even come close to telling you how I felt.  Not only was the box unexpected but it came from one of my most beloved friends of all time.

Although I moved to selling consistently on my own website a couple of years ago, one of the side benefits of offering my wares on eBay for so very long was the meeting and forging of several lasting friendships.  I've worked with more buyers than I can say and it blesses me to share with you that several of those ladies have become very, very close friends.  And, one of those longtime friends was incredibly generous and sent me those eight Poinsettia plates giving me a total of twelve...enough to set my Christmas table for my family this year.

When I started selling on eBay back in 2001 I had absolutely no idea what I was doing, how to do it, what it would become or just who I would meet along the way.  Meeting Miss C and learning about her life and her family has been such an encouragement to me and I've been able to share with her the best and the worst of events in my life in return.  Lots of happy moments, the weddings of my two kids, celebrating victory with my Miss K, tearful moments surrounding my father as well as the passing of one of her most beloved family members... 

Isn't it amazing how God is always on time with His love and encouragement in our lives?  He's never too early or too late to send us people who will help carry our burdens and celebrate with us our greatest joys.  Thank you, C...you mean the world to me!  Honest.  You do!  Your generosity takes my breath away and as always I have much to learn from you!  Thank you again... xoxo


~~*~~

My friend, Miss F, recently sent me a collection of vintage bottles, perfumers, talcs, antique lipstick holders, jars, baskets and bits of trim.  I've already used the baskets in my own home (more about this soon) and I gifted one of the lipstick holders to my DILove because she absolutely loves the colors of yellow and orange.  The two white lipstick holders (which are little lady figurines) I kept for myself because they look just lovely in my master bathroom.  Miss F is also a friend I originally met because of eBay and one who has blessed my life in more ways than I can say.  And, just like Miss C we've shared stories of family love and family loss over the years...again...I'm incredibly blessed.  Thank you, Miss F!  Can't wait to chat-chat again when you are feeling better!  I'm honored to be your 'adopted' daughter and to call you friend! :) xoxo


~~*~~

Tonight my daughter, Adrienne (AdrieGirl) and her big brother, Brandon (my BKN), are hosting a little dinner party for my birthday.  Yesterday I had lunch with my beautiful Momma and tomorrow my Mr. AGPMan and I are going to Tulsa for dinner and a weekend getaway.  We've had sooooo little time together since he started back to school last May.  If you are keeping up with me as I share his schooling-saga then you'll be happy to know in November he'll graduate with his degree in Computer Science and Software Development...  Come On November!  It can't get here fast enough (for him or me!).

More soon as the Season of Light and Love continues on...

Love to you...

~TWO WOMEN and TEA~

Yesterday I came across some amazing words of encouragement and this morning I just had to share them with you.  I wish I could tell you who penned this precious verse...  I only know the writing was timely and spoke to me about the amazing gift of friendship so many of us share with one another here in blogland.  It also reminded me that all of us, no matter where we may be in our lives, are facing some sort of challenge...

 ~TWO WOMEN and TEA~

"Two women met for tea.

They talked about life~

Things they were working through

and things they were learning.

They showed each other grace

and gave each other courage.

Even though neither of them had all the answers,

they knew that God sure did.

So they laughed and cried

and shared their lives.

And in the end

when the cups were empty...

their hearts were full."

(unknown)

"I always thank my God for you

and for the gracious gifts

He has given you."

 I Corinthians 1:4 NLT 

~~*~~

Always happy to share my thoughts with you and to read yours in return.  I'm also glad so many of us are friends.  I've been busy this week with lots of work and activities.  I promise to catch up this weekend!  

Love to you...

~BECAUSE I HAVE TO BLESS ME~

~Adrienne and Momma~

Easter Sunday 1987

Back in the late eighties, right around the time this picture was taken of my precious daughter, Adrienne, she began to say the most delightfully sweet things.  She was not quite three years old and her big brother, Brandon, generally did most of the talking for her back then (boy has THAT changed!).  So, when she did finally start to speak we were always excited and more than eager to listen...  She had the tiniest of lisps and the loveliest way of chattering away about, well, nothing everything...  :)

 

 ~HANDMADE LACES~

One day after experiencing a wee little 'sneezing fit' I noticed my girl would always follow up her 'kerchooooos' with the statement

"Momma...I have to bless me!"

~INCREDIBLE NEEDLEWORK~

No matter how many times I tried to explain she was misunderstanding the sentiment "Bless You" after sneezing she just didn't seem to get it.  One day I finally just let it go.  Amazingly the expression somehow found it's way into the heart of my family and today it lives on...

 

 ~FABULOUS TRIM~

As a result a little life-lesson about giving was born which helped my children learn early on that if they did something for someone else in love the side benefit was they had a chance to bless themselves as well.

 ~FEMININE PILLOW SLIP~

~ROMANTIC and FLIRTY EDGING~ 

Today I was reminded once again by a faithful, loving friend that blessing others is most certainly what life is all about.  

 ~GORGEOUS CROCHET~ 

I've never met my friend, Francy in person.  She lives far away from me down south and I've known her since my early eBay selling days...about nine years now or so.

~LOVELY TATTED LACE~

We've formed a lasting friendship and I love her more than I can say.  She's nearly old enough to be my Momma and I can talk with her just like I was her daughter.

I'm so proud and blessed to call her friend.

 ~CAMISOLE TOP~

A few days ago Miss Francy emailed me to let me know she was sending a package of trims (and things) my way and today our trusty Mr. Postman delivered a big ol' box to my front door...

 ~VINTAGE CROCHET HOOKS~

~OLD PINK THIMBLE~

I was totally unprepared for what the box held.  Vintage laces and trims, crochet hooks, buttons, pillow slips and doilies were neatly tucked inside.  All the goodies were sent to both help me with my little business and to allow vintage laces, trims and edgings to live on and on...

I thought about the generosity of such a very special gift for quite a long spell...

(I'm sad to say I rarely give the BEST I have...) :(

 

~Vintage Buttons~

  Dear Francy-Girl

I want you to know that today I whispered a prayer of gratefulness for you.  You are an amazing, giving woman and I'm so taken with your benevolent, caring spirit.  My hope today is that by blessing me the blessings will return to you a hundred fold.

I adore you, girl!  Thank you...

Love~Rebecca

~~*~~

Tonight my now grown-up Adrie-Girl is coming over and we (along with my Miss K) are taking our recently widowed neighbor homemade soup, fresh-baked bread and strawberry jam for dinner...

Wanna know why?

"Because I have to bless me!"

Love to you as you share your best...

~~~~~LIFE IS JUST PLAIN GOOD~~~~~

 Today I got up really early and couldn't help but think

"OH WHAT A BEAUTIFUL MORNING!"

(Life is good!)

 Admittedly I spent most of the wee morning hours in my jammies doing NOTHIN'!

One of the PERKS of being self-employed...

(Saturday or NOT!)

At 9:00am sharp I picked up the first of three of my very best friends and off we went for a bite to eat at our favorite Oklahoma Breakfast Dive Restaurant...

(Gotta Love Love LOVE Jimmy's Egg!)

After an itty bit a whole lot of girly-girl chatter the four of us went Tag Sale Shopping.  We couldn't resist a stopover at our local TJ Maxx and ROSS Stores...

(Eeek...so much fun!)

Feeling a bit vexed by the heat and the lack of unlimited ca$h in my pocketbook, I bid good-bye said "see you soon!" to my sweet long-time friends and headed home with my trunk filled with only a few tantalizing goodies...

(OK~So they are business-related!

I still can't wait to show you!)

I pulled into my driveway only to find my beloved, 

aka: "Mr. He-Can-Do-Anything-Man"

working on the brick of our La Chaumière de Briarwood...

(Just for ONE HOUR he said!!!!!)

After loving on that hubster-'o-mine just a teensy-weensy little bit...

(Smooch SMOOCH SMOOOOOOCH...)

And thanking him for all he does for me despite his continual need to study...

(Gotstah get all "A's", you know?) 

 I couldn't help but dance with joy as I thought about all I've been given!!!  I'm an incredibly blessed woman...

(Yes!  Life is good!)

"Thank you, God, for happy days.  Thank you for good friends I can share laughter and fun with...  Thank you for the family I cherish...  Thank you for a little business I love and a hubby I adore...

Thank you for allowing me the privilege of experiencing your grace...

Mostly I want to thank you for reminding me once again that life is precious and that all good things come from you..."

~~*~~

Hope you are having an awesome Saturday!

Love to you...