Would You Like Some Tea With Your Turkey?

My teacup for today is one I especially love. It is my favorite color, a bright and happy blue, with a beautiful rose painted inside. This teacup shouts "springtime!" to me. How can you not imagine the turquoise-blue sky and roses of late spring when sipping tea from this cup? Oh, look...

...one of my baby Midget White turkeys has discovered the teacup !

Here comes Tom, the other little turkey poult hatched from the eggs of the turkeys ( now grown up) I raised last year. Guess these little ones have inherited their parents' penchant for teacups*.

"Hey Tiny, what are you doing?

"Tom, look at this beautiful teacup, I love it! When I roll around and curl up in it I feel like I am back in my cozy egg.You should try it."

"I dunno Tiny, it seems a bit too small for me...hmmmm."

This teacup is bone china, made in England by Aynsley.Click onto any picture for enlargement.

"Tom, Tom? Where did you go?"

"Look at this beautiful teacup,turquoise blue with gold-edged cup and saucer, contrasted with white and the beautiful rose inside( what can I say, these are very intelligent turkeys with extensive vocabularies). Now where is Tom?"

"Here I am Tiny ! The tea pot is roomy, I think it fits me nicely, I hope Kathy doesn't need this pot for tea anytime soon."

Happy tea-time to you. Any time for a spot of tea is a bright spot in our day. If you share your tea- time with turkeys, well...you can't help but smile. Maybe you might even laugh out loud! Either way, turkeys and tea make a heart happy. For more Tea Time Tuesday fun and inspiration check out the links listed below.

• Lady Katherine Tea Parlor*
• Martha's Favorites*
• Artful Affirmations*
• Rose Chintz Cottage*
• The Silken Purse*
• Breath Of Fresh Air*

If He Had Stayed

If He Had Stayed

If He had stayed where tender, caring hands had put Him, Wrapped around with linen and aromatic preparations, Stayed enclosed in the cool, dark rock, to sleep on, decayed and forgotten, while eternity rolled away into forever-ness. If He had stayed imprisoned behind the Roman seal, soon to be but another set of bones added to the numberless skeletons bred of earth, If He had stayed down where tradition laid His head, done with sight, and touch, and voice; Oh Beloved ! If He had stayed...excruciating contemplation! Hopelessness behind doom ahead, no gathering here today. Yet here we are, and it can't be said without enough power, not by human voice anyway; No, imagine it ringingly proclaimed by heaven's angelic hosts... ( He didn't stay ) He is risen ! poem by Audrey Yeager

"...and if Christ has not been raised , your faith is worthless; you are dead in your sins." I Corinthians 15:17 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable..." I Peter 1:3

"Before I Kick The Bucket"

"Before I kick the bucket", my husband's mother said as she was handing out dolls to our granddaughters, her great-granddaughters.

"Before I kick the bucket I want to give away my dolls to my great- granddaughters." She has a lot of great-granddaughters , we are the grandparents of only 6 of her great-granddaughters. She has a lot of dolls too, so each great-granddaughter will be given a special doll chosen just for them. Each doll has a name, and Great-Grandma took time to talk to each little girl about the doll. My husband's mother has collected these dolls over many years and had them on display in a special cabinet in the basement. The dolls are very important to her. There have been a few times over the years we have had scares regarding my mother-in-law's health and on one occasion grown children and grandchildren rushed back to Washington from all parts of the U.S. to visit her in the hospital after being told she was "not going to make it" after a stroke. Well, the doctors were wrong, and often I tell my husband his mother is going to outlive us. It seems she has chosen to give her prized and beloved dolls to her great-granddaughters now, while she can choose just the right little girl for each doll. We know she has given the little girls something precious. The great-granddaughters know this too, because she handed the dolls to each of them after beginning with the words "before I kick the bucket". The day after the granddaughters received their dolls they had a doll tea party, hosted by our daughters' daughters. Click here* to view her blog post about it. "Our days are numbered. One of the primary goals in our lives should be to prepare for our last day. The legacy we leave is not just in our possessions, but in the quality of our lives. What preparations are we making now? The greatest waste in all of our earth , which cannot be recycled or reclaimed is our waste of the time God has given us each day." Billy Graham

Sorrow Becomes Joy

Our son's 4 daughters were able to travel to this side of the mountains for a glorious week with us and their 4 cousins ( our daughter & her husbands' children) who live close-by. As a grandma who loves to share her faith with them how could I resist spending every day with all 8 of our grandchildren? I decided to have a week long Vacation Bible School here, complete with fun crafts and of course leaving time for the 8 cousins to play together. Our Bible lessons centered on Jesus' triumphal entry on a donkey colt into Jerusalem, His last supper, His betrayal, crucifixion, and resurrection. On the day of the Butterfly Tea party ( previous post ) we watched an animated DVD of this Bible story after we had lunch. Above is a picture of one of our sweet granddaughters' reaction to the abuse Jesus suffered just before His crucifixion.

All 8 of the children ( and we adults too) became very quiet at the animated scenes of His crucifixion , some of the children hid their faces...

...but happiness and relief as we remembered He did not stay in the tomb. He's alive !

I taught Sunday School for many years and over those years I noticed the story of Jesus' death began to disappear from the Sunday School curriculum, instead focusing almost exclusively on His resurrection and the delights of spring time . The crucifixion was greatly minimized and sanitized so as to hold little or no importance at all. One curriculum went so far as to explain that we should not disturb the children with such sadness. I ask you, what then is the purpose or point of our faith ? Where is the hope,miracle, and joy of resurrection if there is no death? (Please know I am not speaking of graphic pictures and descriptions for little children, but a knowledge of the Bible story as it reads). ~"Fifty years ago, when some underground Christians in the church in Germany were asking many of the same questions about the cross, a man who would become a martyr asked, "How could something become cheap which cost God everything ?" Dietrich Bonhoeffer gave his life to remind us that the cross of Christ will forever remain the center of our faith. From the greatest of negatives flow all the positives of our new life in Christ : from conflict, peace ; from pain, healing ;from death, life." ~Michael Card- A Violent Grace "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and rise again from the dead the third day; and that repentance for forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all the nations," Luke 24:46,47 "

Butterfly Tea Party

It might be April, but the weather around here says we are still in winter. Rain, snow, hail, sunshine, and tonight below freezing temperatures. No spring weather for enjoying butterflies outdoors, so we had our butterfly tea party indoors. "The butterfly is a flying flower.." Ponce D. Lebrun All 8 of our grandchildren, our daughter, and my husband's parents will be seated around the table to celebrate being together, with tea, sandwiches, salad,french fries, and angel food cake topped with strawberries and whipping cream. This is a spring time tea with butterflies as the theme. These teacups are so colorful and all sport butterflies. The table is set, simply. There will be 8 children around the table so we need lots of elbow room . The cake platters are ready for the egg salad and tuna fish sandwiches I hung little silk butterflies from the lamp above the dining room table."Beautiful and graceful, varied and enchanting, small but approachable, butterflies lead you to the sunny side of life." Jeffrey Glasskey We gather together to eat and sip tea or hot coco from the butterfly teacups. The grandchildren are of an age where they love to be together and have much to say to one another. There is always a lot of giggling when the 8 cousins visit with one another.How special to be able to share tea time with them, and their great-grandparents, my husband's parents.

My husband's parents seem to enjoy tea parties too, and they brought special gifts for these great-grandchildren, but that is for the next post.

Our daughter pours tea and hot chocolate, filling and re-filling the butterfly teacups.

The colors of this set of teacups are bright and cheery and not too feminine or delicate for the boys at the table. Look at this, froggy green and dandelion yellow teacups.

Sky blue, dark stormy blue, sweet pink, and there is also a pumpkin orange teacup. They go so well with the bouquets of flowers the granddaughters chose from the floral section of the supermarket.How could I resist buying these cheerful flowers to add to the table, especially when the cold weather has stalled all but the bravest and hardiest of flowers ( mostly weeds) outside . The tea party is over, there is more I will tell in another post. The teacups are packed away in their special box. These cheerful teacups are Yedi Houseware Classic Coffee & Tea Butterfly Teacups.* I use them frequently as they make me smile and my grandchildren like them too. Please take the time to visit the links listed below to see other teacups and tea parties, you will be surprised at the variety, creativity, and passion these ladies have for serving tea , sharing their tea treasures, and gracious hospitality.~

• Terri at Artful Affirmations *
• Martha at Marthas' Favorites *
• Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage *
• Lady Katherine at Lady Katherine's Tea Parlor *
• Wanda Lee at The Silken Purse *
• Pam at Breath Of Fresh Air *

" Sometimes , I think, we rush so, we finish a schedule only to make a newer and busier one. We do not,ever, live deliberately and fully, for we haven't time. I know few people who go outdoors now and sit quietly for a couple of hours just looking at the miracle of spring." Gladys Taber ~Take time for tea today. If the weather is kind,sit outside and sip a cup of tea from a lovely teacup or mug while rejoicing in the good things and the lovely things God has given to you and you will be refreshed in body and soul.

Just A Little Bouquet

The granddaughters rushed in clutching something in their hands they hid from my view. As they worked together the two of them said "don't look Grandma, this is a surprise for you". I was busy mashing potatoes while my homemade baking powder biscuits were baking.The table was set, the sliced roast venison and most delicious gravy were hot and ready for the table as were the vegetables. The birthday cake had been frosted and decorated by one of the granddaughters minutes before with my husband's supervision. I was rushing to get everything on the table so we could sit down to a hot meal and also have time to celebrate our oldest sons' birthday before the evening hour was too late. I am a great multi-tasker and was also cleaning as I cooked . Cleaning the counter tops, loading the dishwasher, un-loading the clothes dryer, picking up toys all eight of our grandchildren had dropped here and there. Rushing down the hall-way to check on another grandchild and discovering I had to straighten up all the little shoes , boots ,and wet socks, coats and oh my - the floor needed a clean-up because after the grandchildren had played near the pond and gone on boat rides with Grandpa there was mud all over the place. Whew. Then the granddaughters presented their surprise to me. A little bouquet of flowers. Nothing in this bouquet would grab the attention of a florist, but just look at this through the eyes of children who take time to look, really LOOK at the world around them.Look at the care taken to carefully arrange this bunch of weeds and flowers. A pine cone, some moss, dandelions, twigs and a few anemones from our graveled entry-way. The bulk of the bouquet is made up of my most hated plant on our property, that blasted shot-weed !I hate the stuff and fight it all spring, summer and fall. I stopped rushing about for a moment ( but just a moment) and looked at this offering of love I almost overlooked in my busyness and said a quick "thank-you". Have you ever noticed what delicate little flowers shot-weed has? The blossoms look like snowflakes. No wonder our youngest granddaughter has been bringing me hands full of shot-weed to put into little cups of water. She sees what I have not taken time to notice. Today the 4 granddaughters who have been here during their spring break went home. I cried because I already miss them. I cleaned while I cried and found a lone sock under their bed, a toy they will miss when they get home,pictures drawn for me in crayon & marker. Then I picked up the little bouquet to toss it out of the creamer and really saw the care they had taken in arranging this precious bouquet,just for me. I did not toss out the little bouquet but placed it within sight of my kitchen sink,then I cried again. When will I ever learn to be IN and appreciate the very moment God has given to me ? ~"Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things ; but only a few are necessary, really only one, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her." Jesus - Luke 10 :41,42

Thank-you KN & KB for this precious little bouquet, it is beautiful.

Target ( Not TeaTime ) Tuesday

I have been away from my computer but stopped in briefly to post and see what you all have been up to. No tea cups or tea parties today. I have things to attend to and visiting grandchildren to enjoy. Above is a picture of my day with our youngest son and his wife as they kindly allowed me to try my hand at some target practice.

O.K. Mom, there is the target, stapled to a dead tree trunk.

Our daughter-in-law Breezy smiles before she...

...cleanly hits the target almost all the time.

My turn.

Did I hit it?

Maybe once or twice, but look, we killed some firewood!