~SWEET WINS from Laura at WHITE SPRAY PAINT~

OK...I have to BRAG! I won something (AGAIN)! Yippy Skippy! :) But before I share with you all about my treasures I have to tell you something first...

It's a miracle I got MY WIN at all as my CRAZY SILLY POSTMAN mis-delivered it to the street behind me! This has happened before when I've purchased things off eBay and On-line. Anyway...the lady that lives at the house number that matches mine is very elderly and sometimes FORGETS THINGS! One time she had a box of mine for 6 months! Anyway, when I was walking my doggie, Mollie the Molinator today she came out and handed me this BOX!

"Rebecca, sweetie! This is yours! I've been meaning to bring it to you for days and days...!"

OhMyGosh!

OHMYGOSH!

OHMYGOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Now..I couldn't WAIT to get home and open up the box I knew had been shipped to me from Sweet Laura at White Spray Paint (she chose that name because her Momma painted everything with white spray paint...how cute is that?)...

When I opened the box I found the most amazing Christmas Pretties tucked inside. Wrapped up in the sweet toile paper and red and cream was the cookie cutters you see above (LOVE THEM, LAURA!) and....


These darling Tea-Towels (which are going to look fabulous in my kitchen in just a FEW weeks... And....

This absolutely 2die4 Accent Rug (which is going to be PERFECT right by my door! And to top it off she tucked inside the SWEETEST card reminding me I was a Child of the Most High!

I am just soooo happy! I rarely win anything and now I've won TWO DRAWINGS! One from Martha and now one from Laura!

Yes, God is good! And so are his peeps! Especially the ones who Blog (and draw my name!)...

Thank you Laura so very much! You have blessed me! You are an amazing writer and you make me smile with your timely words of wisdom and encouragement. I visit you every day even if I don't comment! Go visit Laura! You will LOVE HER, Too!

Blessings to you as you treasure gifts from the heart...Rebecca

~CHOOSING TO DIE-IT - So I Can LIVE-IT~

Dear Peeps...

Today marks the beginning of Week Three in my Weight Watchers "DIE-IT (Diet)! I've decided I DO NOT LIKE that "D" word (no matter how it's spelled!). The older I get the harder it is to regain control of just WHAT IT IS I put into my mouth! I was once just a tiny little kid...I'm wondering what happened!?

Now...let it be said~I don't have a ton of weight to lose. That may be at least one of the reasons why it's been soooo easy to excuse away shedding the extra poundage. Maybe if I was a heavier gal I'd have more incentive to get in shape. Maybe not. I just know I don't like how I FEEL any longer and that has got to be enough to bring change into my life! Additionally, I don't EVER want my children to see my chest cracked open (sorry for the mental picture) because I need bypass surgery like my mother did a few years ago~ I will do anything to spare them such a agony...

SCARY!

Still...weight loss success is coming. Slowly. But, it is coming! Today I'm down a full ten pounds and it feels good to fit back into my 'favorite blue jeans'. Let it be said I have an iron will. I do. If I decide to do something I DO IT! Period. Even so...I can tell I'm older than I was the last time I decided to drop some weight. That was at least a decade ago and I don't remember being nearly this unfocused or even this whiny. Despite my stick-to-it-tive-ness attitude :), I've decided overall that losing excess weight is HARD WORK! I feel for those of you who struggle with this issue every day...

My poor Mr. AGPMan! If not for the simple fact he can also stand to lose a few pounds himself he'd be running for the hills.

No "Mimi's Chicken, Cranberry, Walnut, Blue Cheese Salad" for me for a while (or him)! I nearly fainted when I realized it contains almost ALL my daily allowed points in that one tiny dish! :(

Blessings to you as you make good choices for your life...Rebecca

~FEASTING on His Daily Blessings...Some Food for Thought~

~ THE LITTLEST PILGRIMS~

November 1963

Rebecca, Linda, Cindy, Kathy

and Miss Stibby

I awoke early today to an extra warm November morning. The birds were singing such beautiful little songs and didn't seem to mind at all the leaves around them had turned a deep amber-gold and were quickly falling to the ground. I will miss their sweet music when they fly away for the Winter. The day proved to be extra wonderful with temperatures reaching all the way up to 79 degrees. Odd for Fall, even for Oklahoma! My hubby and I raked leaves (a gazillion!) and worked together all afternoon to ready our home for the cold, frigid months ahead. This work, though necessary, can be truly exhausting! I know our efforts will pay off for the work we did today will make possible the new growth to push it's way up from the earth in the Spring.

Far more than usual I found myself welcoming November with great anticipation and joy. I love the month in which we celebrate Thanksgiving. My best childhood memories surround this time of the year and I will always be grateful to my mother for her creativity and talent for stretching a dollar on a Preacher-Man's salary (which was almost zero!). She was nothing less than magical. I don't recall a childhood Thanksgiving when our table wasn't beautifully set or when we weren't surrounded by family both near and far...

Beautiful days. Lovely memories. Forever preserved inside my heart.

The photo you see above was taken around 1963 when I was about 4 years old ( I'm on the left). It was snapped in the courtyard of Cedarlane Junior High in Hacienda Heights, California, a school I would go on to attend about six or seven years later. My Mother and her sister loved to dress their little girls up in costumes for the Season in hopes of sharing our cultural heritage with anyone who was willing to listen! :) That same year the four of us even landed in the L.A. County Tribune! This was an amazing feat...(I'll share the newspaper clipping with you later this month!).

As we begin counting down the days until Thanksgiving, it is my prayer that you will continue to recognize God's goodness and grace in your life. I've learned over the years that it isn't about the DAY or the wonderful FOOD, instead it's about being grateful and thankful for all we have, the good and the not-so-good, all of the time.

Don't forget~He won't allow what you can't bear!

Blessings to you as we feast upon His daily blessings...Rebecca