An Angel Among Us

Do you ever meet certain people you just know are positive to the core, they warm your soul and leave you with such happiness nothing could get you down? I had the pleasure of exactly this and want to share with you my experience with this Angel among us. She did the unnecessary and gave from her heart. I thank her every single day I look at her gift to me. She has true inner beauty and true selflessness...a great follow up to my previous post about 29 Gifts.

I entered a giveaway (as I do many) on this fabulous blog awhile back (one of my favorites). Shortly after leaving my comment, I received an email from this Angel stating she read my comment and her heart felt for our situation. {If you're new to my blog, long story short - hubs corporate job got cut back in July and he's still looking, so we don't have much disposable income and are living the most frugal ever - it could be worse, but it could be better.} Anyway, she sent us her beautiful photo of Greece (as I had mentioned in my giveaway comment that visiting there was on my bucket list but unattainable in the near future due to the previously mentioned circumstances) and she wanted us to put it up in our house to remind us to stay motivated and positive every day. I was so shocked, I started crying. As we all know, 'blogland' brings its good and bad characters; however, I must say, this was the most generous gesture I had personally experienced.

Her photo is a reminder of that and I thank her a million times over...as she stated in her email, "The purpose of art is to inspire and it did just that, I'm grateful that there are still people like you that keep their hearts open."

She is an Angel among us and I'm glad she decided to touch our lives that day. Thank you Mina. You lifted our spirits that day and continue to do so through the inspiration of your photograph of Greece. Please visit Mina's etsy site and experience her talent firsthand...and please support her if you can by giving a home to one of her fantastic pieces of art. Seriously, the Greece photo is just stunning in person. What's the nicest thing a stranger has done for you that was unforgettable? The world needs more of the good stuff out there...be the change.

(Image courtesy of Depuis)

Sunday Morning Frosty Treat

This past Sunday morning, we were treated to a rare delight of Hoar Frost. There are different types of hoar frost, this one being specifically air hoar. Air hoar is a deposit of hoar frost on objects above the surface, such as tree branches, plant stems, wires and the sort. Hoar frost happens when fog forms and then temperatures drop below freezing. The water-saturated air cools as it touches solid objects resulting in delicate white ice crystals.

Our (almost) three year old quickly informed us that Jesus painted the trees. Upon entering the church parking lot, she yelled out a very sincere thank you stating, 'Thank you Jesus for paintin' the trees - they're BOOO-Tiful!' Now, that's enough to warm your heart, but not enough to warm the frost off these trees before I was able to snap some photos.

Wish I had more time, but we had Mass to attend. I'm hoping I have some free time when this happens next as I would love to spend the early hours just capturing the beauty. See more gorgeous frost images from around the world here. What's your favorite wintertime delight?

Happy Birthday Grandma!!!

So, today was my Grandma's birthday...my only living grandparent. How old is she you ask? Well, she's 98. Yup. And get this...she still lives alone, bakes every week and has a mind that is as sharp as a tack. Today we went to visit Grandma and spent some time with her - it was great! We brought her some flowers and a card and thoroughly enjoyed our time with her.

I feel very blessed that my daughter (her great-granddaughter) is able to know her and interact with her. Together, their ages are over 100 years - a century of experience between the two of them :) Can you imagine what someone 98 years old has lived through in a lifetime? My grandmother immigrated here at a young age and her mother passed away early leaving her to help raise the family.

Oh the stories we have heard - she is one tough cookie! Stories I plan to pass down to my daughter as we page through the photos in our albums. Tomorrow, be sure to spend some time with an elderly relative that you may not have seen in quite some time. I'm sure they will enjoy the visit and as they say, there's no time like the present.

iHeart Faces: Sepia Tone (kids entry)

Oh my, those eyes! How could I possibly be upset if anything goes wrong or she misbehaves (does that ever happen - ha!). I decided to enter this photo in the iHeartFaces Sepia tone contest since this expression says it all...this is our first entry in the contest.

Check out more AMAZING photos on iHeartFaces.com.

Thanks Amy and Angie for the opportunity to be part of the extraordinary weekly contest - it's fun to see all the faces and talent out there - we'll definitely be back for more. Good luck everyone and have fun!

Parents.com Cover Contest Entry

We just entered our little peanut for a chance to win $10,000 at parents.com. Check out her album (and please vote for her)! You can find her in the 2-6 year old entries.

Here is the link to her online album.