VALENTINE LOVE...TREATS AND A WREATH.

~SENDING VALENTINE LOVE TO ALL OF YOU~

I wanted to show you the wreath on my front door.
My door is red as you can see, and I couldn't find anything for
Valentines Day that wasn't red like my door...so I decided to
make one of these white coffee filter wreaths. It was so so easy!

I just went to Google and there were several tutorials videos on
how to make one, chose an easy one, and it came together in 1 hour.

I used a 18" straw wreath circle and around 350 white filters and my glue gun.

I pulled the middle of each filter over the end of a marker, dabbed some hot glue
on the tip and pushed it slightly into the wreath, it went so fast and I just love it!

I looked out my window one morning to see my chickens on the front lawn...
Do you see what I didn't see at first glance? Look close, it's black like the hens...

Tada! It is a little wild black cat!

It has been hanging out with our chickens everyday. My husband puts
some dog food out for the chickens and this hungry little cat thought it was
for him. So, it has been sleeping in the chicken coop, and it follows the
chickens everywhere they go all day long.

I believe that it thinks it's a chicken!
When a chicken walks over to the cat, the cat will fall down
and roll over on it's back. What a cute friendship/family this is!
Just proves how much all of God's creations need love, us and little
wild kitties.

My inside cat loves to watch all of this going on...and she also loves
sleeping in this sunny spot under the old Singer sewing machine.

I groomed my little Bo the other day, he looked so cute!

But he didn't like it much...being without all that longer warm hair
gave him the chills, so I put his jacket on him and he hunkered down
in a warm blanket for the rest of the afternoon.

We have been gone visiting our littlest grands. I think the little ones
seem to grow the fastest and I just love to see them as often as we can
so they know who we are! This little dark eyed beauty is our sweet Claire.

Sophia, Ella and Caleb....waiting for a lane so we can all go bowling.

We waited and waited...but no lanes came available, so...

We all went to find a treat...here we are "pigging out," at a ice cream shop!

I went with my daughter Lindsey to "story time" at their local library.

They had a sweet greyhound there, his name was Darby.

Sophia loved him! He was a retired race dog and he was so gentle.

We had fun reading lots of stories...

And listening to stories....with Darby.

It was Lindsey's birthday, so we went shopping and out to lunch.
Sophia found something she just couldn't let go of...a snowman!


Here's a yummy Valentine treat for you...

"FROSTED CHERRY BARS"

(Heat the oven to 350' spray Pam on a 15X10" jelly roll pan)

Cream together til light and fluffy:
1 3/4 cup sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla

Add:
4 eggs, one at a time,
beating well after each egg.

Add dry ingredients:
1 1/2 tsp. Baking powder
3 cups flour

Blend well, then spread about 2/3 of
the batter in the pan, reserving 1/3 for
the topping.

Drop 1 can, (21 oz.) Cherry Pie Filling over
batter. It won't cover over all of it, just drop
spoonfuls, evenly spaced over batter.
Now drop teaspoons of the remaining batter
over pie filling.

Bake for 35-45 minutes or til toothpick inserted
in the middle comes out clean. Cool completely.

GLAZE
1 cup Powdered sugar
2 T. milk
1/2 tsp. Almond extract
Mix and drizzle over bars.

Don't cover before serving or they
will go too soft.... DELICIOUS!!!

Tiffany's little ones, she sent us this for Valentines Day,
We just love it! So cute the way the baby is hanging onto the U.
(designed by Lindsey)

"THE FINDINGS OF A NEW STUDY"

A study was done by the University of Wisconsin-Madison
(about something all mom's already know) It was this....

Instant messaging can't compete with phoning mom when it comes to
quelling stress. This new study said that hearing mom's voice soothes in
ways that texting simply can't.

Just talking to mom reduced levels of cortisol, a stress bio marker, and
increased oxytocin, a key hormone related to healthy relationships and
pleasure. It also said that emails or computer contact was similar to no
contact at all. The comforting sound of a familiar voice like mom's is
responsible for the hormonal differences observed. Also, that a mom's
voice, it's tones and intonations and rhythms, triggers soothing effects.

So there you have it, something all mom's already know, so, what is the
moral of this study? Call your mom! You need it and so does she!


HAVE A SUPER WONDERFUL, LOVE FILLED, VALENTINES DAY!