~BEGINNING AGAIN~

Blessings to you all for a Happy New Year!  

Thank you for all the notes and comments as we said an earthly goodbye to my hubby's dad just after Christmas.  Tough times during the holidays this year and honestly we are so glad they are over.

We returned from Nebraska late last night after nearly a week long family gathering that included the memorial/funeral for my Mr. AGPMan's father.   He was buried with full military honors and the service was beautiful.

Needless to say we are glad to be home.  The skies turned cold and ominous the night before we left and we hit crummy weather during the entire drive through Kansas.  Once we hit Oklahoma the roads were clear once again.

Our La Chaumière de Briarwood never looked so good.

Hope to share fun stuff with you soon.  Thank you again for all the kind words and expressions of love and sympathy for our family.

Love to you...

~HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013~

DEAR FRIENDS...

WITH HELP FROM MY MR. AGPMan I WANT TO WISH YOU ALL

A HAPPY AND WONDERFUL

AND BLESSED

NEW YEAR!

 

THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND WORDS, NOTES, EMAILS, COMMENTS, PHONE CALLS AND TEXT MESSAGES AS I HEAL UP FROM SURGERY.

I AM DOING OK...  TOUGH DAYS AT FIRST, BUT GOOD DAYS WILL RETURN AND I'M EXCITED ABOUT FEELING GREAT ONCE AGAIN!

LOOKING FORWARD TO HEALING UP AND RETURNING TO THE THINGS I LOVE MOST.

LOVE TO YOU...

~~~~~~~~HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012~~~~~~~~ Changes Are Coming

~WHAT'S GOIN' ON AROUND HERE?~

(Miss Mollie Watching From Afar!)

Happy New Year to you all!  I just had to pop in today and tell you I hope 2012 is your best year ever!

I believe it's going to be a wonderful year!!!

 ~OUR ORIGINAL TILE~

(Breakfast Room)

Before I get about my day I just have to share with you a tad of what's been going on around here at my La Chaumière de Briarwood...things have been a REAL MESS!

~OUR SON-IN-LOVE~

(Wall on Right is Coming Out!)

None of us can believe the beautiful weather we've had here in Oklahoma!  For weeks we my Mr. AGPMan planned on taking up our aging ceramic tile inside our home over New Year's Eve and so we feel like we've been really fortunate weather-wise.  We were able to swing the doors open wide and I was more than happy watching lots of the dust fly out (too bad not all of it did!).  I remember when my hubby first laid down the tile in May 1993.  We were sooo happy with it!  Now with all the changes inside our home it was time for it all to come up and before long our wood floors will be going down!

~GOING WELL SO FAR~

(Cleaning As They Go)

Like I said the weather has been incredibly fabulous in Oklahoma and I'm more than thankful for days when the sun is shining and the snow and ice stay away!  Our temperatures have reached to almost 70 and that is unheard of this time of year.

 ~SO MUCH WORK~

(Our Entry)

Being able to keep the doors propped open while experiencing an interior dust bowl was incredible!  More warm temps are expected this week and that makes this native Cali-Girl very, very happy!

 ~MY MR. AGPMan~

(hardest working guy I know)

When we were quoted $4 per square foot to have the old tile taken up.  I thought that was really high until I saw firsthand how much work it was.  It took my guy and our son-in-love, Micah, ten hours to remove our breakfast room, kitchen, pantry, downstairs bath and laundry room tile...  It was grueling work and I now believe it's worth every single penny hard working men charge to do this kind of labor!

 ~WORKING SUN-UP until SUN-DOWN~

~KNEE PADS A MUST~

 ~AND FACE-MASKS~

 ~OUR ENTRY~

When the guys got to this point they were more than exhausted!  Even after all the tile was taken up they still had to go back over the concrete to remove all the old grout.  By the time the evening hours came, they had cleaned up, eaten dinner, etc. they were ALMOST too tired to celebrate the New Year!

But...we did anyway!

~ENOUGH OF THIS~

While all the very LOUD machinery was in play our little Miss Mollie found a place on the sofa and decided to sleep.  I've never quite figured her out!  I had to give her a bath first thing this morning because she was covered with gritty dust...

I'll be spending most of my hours today cleaning up my home!  Parts of it look like a war-zone!  There is still much to do before our new wood floors are installed, but I'll keep you up as the major changes play out!  It's all exciting!!!!

Happy New Year to you all once again...  More coming soon!

Love to you...

~~~THOUGHTS ON A SUNDAY MORNING~~~ NEVER GIVE UP

I've shared with you many times over the past couple of years my deep appreciation for the writings of Max Lucado.  I believe he's been blessed by the Most High as well as being given the gift of encouragement.  He never fails to lead me in a positive direction while gently reminding me that God will forever be faithful to His children.

For many the New Year brings with it continued promise for better days.  How grateful and thankful those of you must be who are in this place!  However, for others the future seems bleak and scary with no hope in sight for the situations pressing in upon them to improve.  And so, it is to you, the broken and afraid, the downhearted and afflicted that I share with you a short passage from one of the books by Mr. Lucado.

From "He Still Moves Stones"

"The God of surprises strikes again...God does that for the faithful.  Just when the womb gets too old for babies, Sarah gets pregnant.  Just when the failure is too great for grace, King David is pardoned...

The lesson?  Three words.  Don't Give Up...

Is the road long?  Don't stop.

Is the night black?  Don't quit.

God is watching.

For all you know right at this moment...the check may be in the mail...

The apology may be in the making.

The job contract may be on the desk.

Don't quit.  For if you do, you may miss the answer to your prayers."

Two-thousand eleven is a new beginning.  A fresh start!  A clean slate!  Think positive and press on.  You can make it!  You can!  I'm believing along with you the answer is on it's way and better days are ahead!  I've always heard that Prayer is the key to heaven but it's our faith that will ultimately unlock the door!

Blessings and love to you this first beautiful Sunday of the year.

~HAPPY NEW YEAR - Making Your Life Count~

~HAPPY NEW YEAR~

Today marks the beginning of my third year of Blogging.  Somebody peal this girl off the ceiling, please!  What a ride I've been on for the past 730 days!  I've managed to meander my way through what has proved to be truly fascinating journey through blogland and because of you I've traveled via the internet to many places I once only dreamed of seeing.   You've inspired me to follow my sometimes restless heart all the while helping to keep my feet firmly planted in the place I love the very most.  Home.

The year 2010 was wonderful for me and in many ways I've hated to see it end.  I sometimes glance back to the past, but only as a gentle reminder of lessons learned during days once lived.  I'm a firm believer that I can't know where I'm going if I don't have a good handle on exactly where I've been...

I'm soooo very excited to have you travel along with me!  I still love reading your comments and smiling at your quick wit and endless muse.  I continue to be blessed by your prayers as well as your encouraging thoughts and words as they mean more to me than you can ever possibly know.

Additionally, I'll be continuing to expand the offerings on my A Gathering Place Website and also sharing more design ideas and photos relating to the refashioning of my La Chaumière de Briarwood.

Oh...and watch for my BLOGIVERSARY GIVEAWAY (it's fun and fabulous)slated to begin in a few days.

Thank you again for everything!  Blessings to you as you enjoy the first day of 2011.

An Ever Grateful,

~WELCOMING 2010 - LET YOUR LOVE FLOW - MIZPAH~

~HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010~

Here we are...counting down the days until another New Year begins. I can't believe it's almost time to tell 2009 goodbye! I so hope it was a wonderful year for each of you! But, knowing how life can be sometimes, I'm sure there are many of you who are not sad at all to see it go...

Despite a few unexpected lows, 2009 was a good year for me and my family. I have much to be grateful for... And so, I spent much of my evening hours jotting down each and every good thing that came my way over the past twelve months. The good always outweighs the not-so-good...for this I'm unbelievably thankful!

For the past several days I've been following the Blog of a local woman who tragically lost her spouse of twenty plus years in a terrible fall last November. Her pain is raw and grief has overwhelmed her and her children. The husband of this beautiful woman's youth was too young to pass from this earth and it is in times like these when I admittedly do not understand some of the things that my God allows. Her name is Saundra if you can spare some time to pray...

Additionally, I've felt a bit overwhelmed for I just learned of the passing of my hair stylist of six years. Michael Porter. Mister Mike, as I called him, was a breath of fresh air to my Mr. AGPMan and I. While he snipped and clipped we'd chat like two old hens as he worked his magic on my very thin, mousy brown hair. I never tired of his witty humor and his passion for life held me captive. He will forever be remembered as the person who transformed my beautiful girl into a princess on her wedding day and her attendants into real belles... I already miss you, MM! I'm glad your suffering is over...

A frosty winter storm blanketed much of Oklahoma and we celebrated a simply lovely snowy-white Christmas! I've so enjoyed having my Baber home for several days in a row. We've been busying ourselves with the packing up of holiday memories while closing out yet another chapter in the book that has become our life.

Every time my heart drifted off to thoughts of Saundra and her profound loss I held my guy just a bit longer and spoke just a bit sweeter. "If there but for the Grace of God go I...".

Several years ago I heard the words to an amazing little song called Mizpah (Let Your Love Flow Like a Fountain). With lyrics long forgotten, I stumbled upon them recently while looking for some special Christmas music for a party~

It always makes me soooo happy to have the exact words I'm wanting to say fall directly into my lap... It happens to me ALL the time. It does!

My God is a Faithful God. May He bless you and cover you with His Wings in 2010.

May Your Love Flow (Mizpah)
Byron Walls

May your love flow like a fountain
May your days be free of doubt
May your life become as effortless
As breathing in and out
May you always complete what you begin
May you never have so much that you’re a slave to what you own
May you always have the wisdom to leave well enough alone
When dark clouds close around you
May you feel God’s light surround you when you pray
When you need someone to guide you may you know
God walks beside you all the way

May you always wake up cheerful
And give thanks for everyday
Know the love that you receive
Comes from the love you give away
May your faith become a soft place when you fall
May you always bring to life whatever is in your mind
If good is what you’re looking for may good be what you find
When dark clouds close around you
May you feel God’s light surround you when you pray
When you need someone to guide you may you know
God walks beside you all the way

With a grateful heart~
Rebecca