Little Lamb, Who Is Your Mother ?

Little lamb, is this your mother ?

Little lamb, are these your brothers ?

Little lamb, is THIS your mother and sister ?

Little lamb, they won't claim you...

...so I will be your mother. ~

Two weekends ago I found two of my ewes had lambed and there was great confusion between them. They had chosen the same spot to have their babies and there were 4 lambs needing a mother. I suspect one of the ewes had triplets ( you can tell which one from the pictures) but she was claiming only one lamb. The gray ewe ( Delilah ) had 3 little lambs bleating at her and she seemed very confused, but chose 2 little ones to tend. No matter what I tried, the 4th little lamb was either rejected calmly by Delilah, or speared by a horn ( Thora) and flung far. Now, I am little Cindy's mother. She sleeps in a bin in our sun-room and drinks her formula from a bottle. She is doing very well . So yes, I am Little Lamb's mother. Kathy had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb, Kathy had a little lamb ...

Royal Grafton Tea Cups

Pink! I would never have thought in years past that the color pink would appeal to me.

Isn't pink a pretty color for tea cups? The mint green isn't too shabby either, and is my favorite of the two. These are the two Royal Grafton teacups I own. They are very similar , even with the color difference they look to be a matched set to me. I have seen others very similar to these two on Ebay in other colors.I saw a blue one I especially like.

"Grafton China became Royal Grafton after being given a royal warrant by Queen Mary. Royal Warrants are a mark of recognition to individuals or companies who have supplied goods or services for at least five years. Warrants have always been regarded as demonstrating excellence and quality, and are highly prized." Peter Holland

"Royal Grafton,Fine Bone China, England "

"Royal Grafton Fine Bone China ceased trading in 1972. The trade name went on to become part of the Tams China group ( est.1874) which also failed ...going up for sale in January 2007." Peter Holland* "I like just plain tea" says Little 'T'. "No sugar or mint." I agree with her. Sipping tea out of a beautiful china tea cup along side a beloved granddaughter is a pleasure and a blessing. "...the Lord is gracious and compassionate." Psalm 111:4b I have linked with the ladies below for Tea Time Tuesday, please take a look at the tea cups and tea parties they beautifully display.

• Pam*
• Wanda Lee*
• Lady Katherine*
• Martha*
• Terri*
• Sandi*

I Still Miss Him

Today was my Dad's birthday.He died in 1992 . I still miss him very much. I rarely visit the cemetery where he was buried because he is not really there.

He is here, in my memories of him.( picture of my Dad & me when I was 2 years old.) I remember he always wore cowboy boots when he wasn't wearing his Army boots. I remember him playing his guitar and singing songs, mostly Country Western, to us and with us.I remember him helping us build our house. I remember how much fun he was. I remember so many, many things about him and ... I miss him. My grown children still miss him. The song being sung by Garth Brooks will always bring to mind my father.I think we played it at his funeral, but I cannot remember for sure because that day is a blur for me.I would say "happy birthday Dad",but he will not hear me ~ so I say "Thank-you" to my heavenly Father for giving me my earthly Father . I still miss him.~

New Lambs, Can Spring Be Far Away ?

The first lambs of the year!

It is snowing here and we are experiencing record low temperatures for this time of year. Actually, they would be record lows for most any time of the year in this neck of the U.S. Nevertheless, new lambs foretell of spring , and new lambs melt my heart. Aren't they cute? This is Sassafras with her new ram lambs .

"It's winter, and I am bound to squeeze the beauty and life out of every day, to appreciate what is wonderful about it, and to stop my pointless yearning for the mellow days of autumn past or - perish the thought - the distant warmth of spring."Julie Zickafoose ~ 'Letters From Eden '

Heartfelt Tea Party

Even boys like a good tea party! Here our oldest grandson pours a cup of "tea" ( root beer) for our youngest grandson. Yes, I let even the toddlers drink from my china teacups, and not one of my teacups has been broken by a grandchild thus far.

Our youngest granddaughter is visiting us for awhile and we decided to have a Valentine's Day Tea Party . We invited our daughter and her 4 children for a sweet-filled and fun day.

Our daughter's oldest daughter made these doily place-cards using cut-outs from garden catalogs and pasting scripture from the Bible regarding the word "heart". Have you ever checked out how much the Bible has to say about our hearts? "For God knows the secrets of the heart." Psalm 44:21b

Before the tea party I placed a selection of teacups alongside the frosted cupcakes. I told everyone to select their own teacup....

...so they did.

The table was laden with a simple selection of sandwiches : egg salad, tuna, peanut butter & jelly, and just plain jelly. Obviously, dessert was cupcakes with pink frosting and lots of candy.

Our youngest grandchild chose the yellow butterfly teacup and saucer.

Granddaughter KN chose the pink butterfly cup & saucer.

These two, our two youngest granddaughters, chose the little butterfly handled cups and saucers...

...and spent the rest of the day as best friends, clinking their cups together,talking , laughing , eating, and giggling together....

My featured teacup is Royal Grafton, Bone China, Made In England, and was chosen by our oldest grandson. The Grandson who is already a kind and loving big brother,son, cousin, grandson. The Grandson who is already a hard worker.The Grandson who really loves his cup of root beer, even when it is being sipped out of one of my favorite teacups !

I love having our grandchildren over to play with me. I love watching them grow up and seeing their character develop. All too soon they too will be grown-ups and I hope they remember it is a very good thing to enjoy tea parties sipping root beer, tea, and hot coco out of real china teacups and saucers and eating peanut butter & jelly sandwiches served on fine china with Grandmas and cousins. Maybe one day in the not too distant future they will invite me to a tea party with their children..won't that be a joyous tea party? "So remove vexation from your heart and put away pain from your body, because childhood and the prime of life are fleeting." Ecclesiastes 11:10

I am linking up with these ladies who faithfully host Tea Cups, Tea Parties, and All things tea every Tuesday. Click onto their names and enjoy!

• Martha *
• Lady Katherine*
• Terri*
• Pam*
• Wanda Lee*
• Sandi*
• Laura Ingalls Gunn*

Hope For The Prodigal & A Parents' Heart ~

"A dear sweet friend of mine has had nothing but trouble with his children. In my estimation he has been the perfect parent who provided them with everything they needed to grow up and do the right thing, but every one of them , in one way or another, took a wrong turn. He grieved over them and disciplined them and set proper boundaries with them. After years of cleaning up after their messes and making the best of the worst of situations, some of his prodigal kids came home and some of them did not. From all appearances his heart was broken over these prodigal kids. But through it all his love for them did not falter. To all of us who know him, he is a great example of how to deal with our children when they go the way of the world. He wrote a book about his experiences and it has become a best-seller. My sweet friend is Jesus and of course His book is the Bible." Stephen Arterburn, introduction to 'Moments For Families With Prodigals' by Robert J. Morgan * ~

"Wait for the Lord, Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord." Psalm 27 :14

I'm A Distracted Blogger

When our children grew up and had families of their own, I missed them and regretted the many times I was too busy attending to some things that in retrospect were not worth the time and energy expended. I will never get those days back, and really, would it have been such a big deal if the sink full of dirty dishes and the baskets full of dirty laundry waited while I rocked my little ones a bit longer and read just one more storybook to them? ~"While we try to teach our children all about life, Our children teach us what life is all about." Angela Schwindt ~ Now that I am a Grandmother,I find I am still a busy lady, but perspective changes some things...I guess that is what the blessing of getting older can do for us. ( Yes, getting older IS a blessing, think of the alternative.) I should have posted about the wonderful Valentine Tea Party I had with 5 of my grandchildren for Tea Time Tuesday, but after all the fun of our tea party, my youngest Granddaughter who is staying with us for awhile and I cleaned up and enjoyed each others company. It turns out she loves to just stay home and play quietly, checking up on me and my husband every so often. She sings to herself while her dolls and stuffed bunny have a wonderful time with her. I love to watch her, sing to her, and cuddle her when she is ready for a snuggle.I even take a few moments to watch her sleep. So, I am now a distracted blogger. My Valentine Tea Party will be posted next Tuesday, but for now there is a lot of cuddle time not to be missed....she is our youngest granddaughter, and growing up quickly! ~ "A child seldom needs a good talking to as a good listening to." Robert Brault