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Showing posts from 2013

Ringing in 2014

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Hey y'all. I can't believe another year is done. This year has been great at times and so very difficult too. We wish y'all a very happy and prosperous New Year. I am planning to make some changes in the New Year. I'll see you all again soon. Love Jenny and Lee Happy New Year

Steven J. Estes

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              November 17, 1959-December 16, 2013 Steve, was met at the Gates of Heaven on  December 16, 2013 by his nephew Joshua and his cousin Phil Estes  to welcome him and take him to see the Lord and rejoice with family and friends waiting to take him home. He was beloved husband, son, brother, uncle and brother-in-law. He will always be loved and missed and we find comfort that he is home with his Lord and Savior. He leaves behind his loving wife, Beth, who is waiting to be with him again in the Kingdom of Heaven; his dear father Curtis and beautiful mother Juanette, his brother Trent and his wife, Karen and their children Jessica and Joseph, his sister Angie and her children Sarah, Matthew and Thomas, His family in love by marriage; Buster and Debby, Jenny and Lee, Joanne and Jay, Laura and Patrick, Jared and Amanda and nephews Colby and Layden and Nieces Shelby and Darby. A service to celebrate his life will be Friday at 1 pm at Graham Funeral Home in Chesapeake, Va

Merry Christmas

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Hey Y'all I have failed miserable again! Counting my blessings ended all too quickly. In short let me tell ya I am one blessed gal and I am  thankful for all He has given me. So let me tell ya why I have been so absent so much this year. First my promotion at work took up a good bit of time, next we had to look for another house (long story) then we had to move. Y'all let me tell ya with Lee being disabled it has taken us forever to get moved in, but we are finally about 98% moved. We lost our beloved Cody my heart is still grieving for him. Lee was completely lost without his little buddy. With much thought and prayer we adopted a new puppy. Meet Charlie My biggest chunk of time is spent on him at the moment He is 4 months old now. I love the new house and as soon as I find where we put my camera I'll give you a tour. Until then here are my 2 little ole Christmas trees :) This little one is in my kitchen Notice no ornaments on the bottom of the t

Day 7

Hay Y'all Today I am blessed to have a roof over my head. There have been times in the last few years when we didn't know what was going to happen or where we would land. God has made a way for us and for that we are comforted and blessed beyond our expectations. Thank you Lord for giving us shelter, cool air in the summer and heat in the winter. So many do not have even those comforts, I pray for them and I am thankful to you for what we have.

Day 6

Hey Y'all Today my blessing is being able to read. I often take for granted what so many are not able to do. In the store I work in there are 2 men in their early 50's that cannot read. Well just 2 that I know about... It breaks my heart.   They never had anyone in their lives when they were young to teach them. They went through school and were just pushed along, no one took the time.  Now they are afraid to even try. I am so very blessed that I had teachers and parents who took time with me. My mom and dad instilled in us very early; the love of the written word, for that I will be ever grateful. I LOVE to read, and thank God there are creative and talented people on this earth that were blessed with the ability to tell a story. These amazing men and women can take me out of my car, bed, chair etc... and transport me into a world they created, I love it. I get so wrapped up in a good book I can tune out everything around me, I can see and feel the environment  t

Day 5

Hey Y'all, Today I am blessed to have great friends in my life. I have met some wonderful women in the blog world, that have truly blessed my life. I am almost hesitant to name them, only because I am afraid I will leave someone out, so to name a few, and I am sorry if I miss you, (my 40 year old brain is not as good as my 39 year old brain was...ha ha ) Lucy aka Julie at Ric Rac and Polka Dots I am so glad to have you in my life. You always make me smile. Peg at  Peg's Crafting Corner You are one of the sweetest women I know. HUGS! Marcia God brought us together when we needed it. I love you to bits. Elizabeth at Creative Breathing Your kindness and creativity blow me away. I miss ya :) Angela at Down to the Darling Details . We met through Sandy at 521 Lake Street 's Easter Swap that was one of the best days, when God made us friends in an instant! LOVE YOU! Sandy  is so very creative and a lovely woman, whom I am blessed to call my friend. Tris

Our boy

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Hey y'all, I hope you are well today. I debated and hemmed and hawed over whether or not to post this, and I decided since my blog is also a kind of journal for me I decided I would. Day 4: My sweet fur baby is my blessing. On October 5th we lost our sweet boy. Our puppa Cody. He was a sweet dog, very much the Alpha Male, Loved Lee more than anything on this earth. He drove us crazy, loved to play, made us laugh, gave sweet kisses  and always protected us from any noise :) He wasn't as social as we would have liked. He liked things just between the 3 of us. He never bit or snapped at anyone but would bark his fool head off if you came near. He loved to snuggle on the back of the couch or sitting beside Lee. He loved to get a treat when he came in form outside. We now know that some of the treats we fed him may have contributed to the kidney failure that ended his life all too soon. We are not certain, but it seems too coincidental. We had him cr

Blessing Day 3

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Hey y'all, well I think I am all caught up. I even have my day 4 blessing done and scheduled to post :P Today my blessing is Lee. WAY BEFORE I KNEW HIM :) I think he said he was around 10 years old here. I love that dimple and smile. Here he is a couple years ago. I think this is my favorite photo of him. My sweet husband can drive me up a wall. Thinks I am cute when I am mad at him. Is a redneck. Annoys me with clutter. Can be selfish and rude. Can be silly and sweet. Is the most loyal man I know. Stinks at gift giving. Loves everything I cook. Loves science fiction. Hates cheese to touch mustard...weirdo :) Can procrastinate like a champ...ha ha Lives in pain everyday. Holds me in his arms. Wishes he was a daddy. Loves being Uncle Lee. Loves the Lord. Watches British comedy and dramas with me. Loves me unconditionally. He loves me. I know that, without a shadow of a doubt I know he loves me. For that and so much more,

Blessing Day 2

Hey Y'all, My Blessing today is my job. Ugh, y'all  have no idea how hard that is to say. Especially after how bad the last few months have been. I do not like my job at all so finding the blessing in it is not easy. God has put me where he wants me so I am trying hard to learn all He has for me there,. I am blessed to be working, to have an income, and to be able to see, hear, walk and talk to people every day.

I have some catching up to do :)

Hey Y'all, Well after a heat wave it finally feels like fall again. I love it. So I had intended to do 30 days of thankful   and I have already missed 2 days, then I decided I would make mine 30 days of Blessings. I forget sometimes how blessed by my loving Lord I am. Day 1: I am Blessed to live in a country that (for now at least) allows us the freedom to practice any religion we chose. I am a  believer in Jesus Christ. I believe he lived and I believe he died for me more than 2000 years ago. I believe he loves everyone of us.  For me it is not really a choice, it is ingrained in my DNA to love Jesus. Does that make me perfect? NO WAY! I am a miserable sinner that because Jesus died for me is saved by grace. Am I a perfect Christian, unfortunately the answer to that is also No.  I have a quick temper, I gossip way more than I should, I talk too much all too often, I give things to the Lord to handle and I take them back, I am not proud to say in my younger years I have sto

Halloween Past...

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Hey Y'all, How are you today? The weather is lovely her in Va. today. Lee is doing well and I am home sick with tonsillitis. 40 years old and have a kids ailment...sheesh. Oh well, life goes on. I just have to stay home and on antibiotics 24 hours then I can go back to work...yipee (insert sarcasm) I just need to be all better by Thursday. Beth and I have a funny costume all set for Halloween. I am looking forward to it too. Do you dress up?  I haven't  in years. I did find a couple photos from when I was a kid. What was your favorite costume ever? I think mine was a clown costume my Mom and Aunt Bonnie made. When I think of all the years and all the different costumes, this is the one that always springs to mind.                                                     Halloween 1982 The costume was hand made every bit. My wig was yarn, the had was poster board with fabric patches glued onto it and a yarn pom pom on the top. The collar had jingle bells and was a

Good Gracious!

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Where does the time go? This is honestly the first time in almost 3 months I have even opened my laptop! YIKES! I feel so neglectful of all my friends blogs as well as my own. Please forgive me. we have had quite a bit going on here at home, I won't bore you with the mundane details, you all know how it is. Work has been a bit crazy for me this past month, but hopefully I can make it to January and then I can relax. CHRISTMAS is just around the corner again already, can you believe it and Thanksgiving being so late in the month this year is going to make the Christmas season fly by in a flash. Ok enough with all that I have to tell y'all something very important...SHE'S HERE!!! My Dew Drop arrived on Oct.4th after putting her amazing mama through 39 yes you read it correctly 39 hours of labor! I'll just share a few photos now, and I'll save more for later; and I promise to be by each of your blogs to catch up very soon. The most beautiful baby! Darby Eliz

Such Sweet Friends!

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Hey Y'all! How are ya? Getting by here. So I have some rotten news :( Diabetes has struck our family again. This time I have been diagnosed. AHHHHH! Y'ALL How am I gonna give up all my sweets...lol I am a sweets addict, I can give up chips and yes even ... (some) pasta and I ADORE Italian food as well. But sweets are my Achilles heel. Prayers...y'all lots of prayers. Onto my sweet friends, Trisha at Glass Slippers and All Sorts of Stuff won my Yankee Candle give away, and she sent me this sweet and festive banner I LOVE IT! I have had it up for the entire month of July. It was such a sweet surprise. Thank You again Trisha. Love you bunches :) Then in the mail I got this perfect for me bookmark from  Ashley who was my blogging secret sister last year. Sorry for the sideways photo, I flipped it about 15 times and it keeps flipping back. Oh well...lol we all know I am not a photographer ;) Thank you Trisha and Ashley for thinking of me.

New Addition

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Hey Y'all! I am such a bad blogger...lol Well I am here today and hope to catch up with y'all. How is your summer treating you? Hazy, Hot and Humid here in Virginia and y'all know how I feel about the heat! YUCK! Other than that... Mine is ok so far, if I could just stay healthy, I am fighting my 2nd sinus and upper respiratory infection in just over a month! UGH I hate a summer cold. So for today I wanted to share with y'all a special event. My sister Laura and her husband Patrick are expecting in October, WELL they wanted to do a gender reveal party and they asked me to take care of the big announcement for them. Y'all I was so tickled, I hit Pinterest like a hurricane. HA! I could not decide on just one way to do the reveal so I did several ideas dragging it out just a bit...he he he I loved it! I did not however get photos of everything I did I KNOW I KNOW BAD BLOGGER! I was just too wrapped up in having fun. So here is what I did 1.Oreos, I twiste

Pink Lady Slipper WINNER!

Hey y'all! How are ya this summer? Not too bad at the moment here. I hope all y'all are safe and sound after all these storms we are having as of late. We had a dilly of a storm here day before yesterday. the proverbial "They" (do you ever wonder who "they" are...lol) are predicting a pretty bad hurricane season this year, so stock up on your supplies early. Batteries, flashlights or lanterns, propane, candles, coolers, water and canned goods... TRUST ME it is better to have it and not need it, than to try and get it just before or after a storm, OK off my soapbox now :) Thank you so much to all of y'all who took the time to comment on my giveaway. (((HUGS))) to each of you! OK the Winner of the Pink Lady Slipper  Yankee candle is... There were 12 items in your list. Here they are in random order: Trisha Marcia Betty Mrs.A Linda Daniella Cindy Melissa Karen Ann Marci J. Anne C. Timestamp: 2013-06-15 22:31:25 UTC CONGRAT

Having Fun

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Hey Y'all how are ya? Roller Coaster riding here...lol Just when I think things are leveled out look out a huge drop comes along...lol Oh well what can ya do? Laugh, cry, pray... Anyhow... My bff Julia and I went to Williamsburg about 2 weeks ago for a day of shopping at the outlets and just hanging out. We had the most fun at Yankee Candle in Williamsburg. It's one of their flagship stores it is HUGE and a Ton of fun. Christmas is year round and even Santa is there daily. They have a fountain, a kitchen shop, a garden shop, a section just for men, make your own candles, get your hands molded in wax....the list goes on... here are a few photos of our day... I showed this photo to a bunch of people we work with  NO ONE not one of them recognized Julia, even when she was                                              standing right beside them when they were looking at the photo! ummm....scary....but fun.  Happy Friends! silly friends We ate, sh

Woolzies Winner Take 2

Hey Y'all! I have to apologize, I had the winner post written and scheduled to post on Saturday at 12:01am... grrrr....blogger! The post never posted and it has disappeared as well, and I being neglectful did not follow up to make sure it did. I am sorry. Thank You Ann C. for emailing me to ask who won! A big hug out to each of you that entered. Ok  so this is what I did using the random name generator I entered every name that left a comment in random order, I then entered each name that let me know they liked Woolzies on facebook, I then entered each name that told me they are following on Twitter, for a total of 38 entries. I entered them randomly and then used the randomizer, it was as fair as I could make it...lol AND THE WINNER IS.... There were 38 items in your list. Here they are in random order: Traci Lisa Melanie Claudia the Myers Ann Deana benz1171 Deana Krystal Marcia Debi Traci Catherine Jenn Ann benx1171 Kelly Alissa Melanie the Myers Ca

Woolzies!

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Hey Y'all! Sorry to have been away so long again. I won't go into details, but it has been a bit of an adventure here. I think  things are settling down (fingers crossed) So how are ya? I have another give away for ya! A few weeks ago I was given the opportunity to try and review a box of Woolzies Dryer Balls. Here is a bit about Woolzies from their website Photo from their Facebook page  Woolzies are pure handmade New Zealand wool dryer balls that soften your laundry naturally without any of the chemicals of conventional fabric softeners. Unlike the plastic dryer balls, they are PVC free and won't fall apart or melt on you. Woolzies save time and energy by cutting down on drying time by an average of 25% per load. They also help reduce static and wrinkles. Use Woolzies to snuggle up with naturally downy soft laundry that's completely free of harmful chemicals.  Woolzies are also hypo-allergenic and totally safe for people with wool sensitivities as

Winner Winner Read all about it!

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Hey Y'all How are ya? So with out further ado... The winner of the autographed copy of Joanne Fluke's Red Velvet Cupcake Murder.... So I have about a million cupcake liners so I used them to write all the entrants name's on... put them in my favorite mixing bowl  Had Lee pick a liner out of the bowl  WHOO HOO! Congratulations Mitzi look for an email from me. Thank you to all of you who commented. You are all so special to me, thank you for reading and sharing your thoughts. X's & O's

Surprise Party

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Hey Y'all, Well it is 88 degrees here in Va. today so you know what that means...the A.C. is on already. I hate to be hot...lol So in my effort to continue to catch up since I have been gone I wanted to share with ya what my family did. I have told you before I have the best family! I love them all so very much! On my Birthday Feb.24 were were told to be at my mom and dad's church for a special ceremony for my dad. It was a Hoax! Well when we got there we were blown away by a Surprise Birthday Party for my 40th  and Lee's 50th! Joanne made the "Over the Hill" cake and cupcakes Lee...well nuff said...lol my other Leigh Steve My Aunt Bonnie Love her ...we are a lot alike :) Shelby and Layden See the vases on the table...Laura made those from photos of me and Lee over the years LOVE THEM! We have them on a table in the living room now. Jay, Joanne, Amanda and Shelby My cousin Todd who is the most talented musi

I have returned with a gift for you!

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Hey Y'all, Did ya miss me, I sure missed you :) Training was great and I made a bunch of new friends! It is so nice to have peers to count on that are all in the same boat. I miss hanging out with all of them. 25 of us all together these 3 I will be friends will forever. The 4 trouble makers ha ha ha (not really) Left to right Desirae, Marie, Me, and Lisa Love my girls! We bonded so quickly.  We had so much fun. I went out all but 2 nights the whole month, dinners, movies, bowling, shopping, just having a great time. LOVED IT! I have so much to catch y'all up on but let me start off today with this. Remember way back in February I told you about the Red Velvet Cupcake Murder by Joanne Fluke. She used my recipe and name in her book. WELL while I was in Richmond she did her first East Coast book tour and one of her stops was March 19th (Lee's 50th Birthday too ) a mere 25 minutes from me! Guess where me happy tail went that night...downtown Richmond to t