Wedding Preparations

Sewing bridesmaid dresses. Three days before.



Tea party prep.


Making Signs


Setting up chairs


Setting up sound

A Beautiful Wedding

Daniel and Jenny got married on Saturday. They are now Mr. and Mrs. Gillogley! I feel so blessed to have Jenny as a special friend. It was so fun to everything unfold and to get to know Daniel. It was also very fun to be involved in the many preparations for the wedding.
The wedding was beautiful. It was a perfect spring day for an outdoor wedding. It was wonderful to see the way they both desired to honor God through the whole process. And to see their love and commitment to God and to each other.
It was also fun to see everyone who came from out of state. Friends came from Washington, Oregon, and even Missouri.
Here are a few photos from the wedding. I was way in the back so I didn't get any good ones of the ceremony.


Preparing the bride.


That is me over seeing the gift table.


Beth playing harp prelude music.


The groom and groomsmen.


Here comes the bride. Isn't she beautiful?


The lovely bridesmaids.


Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Gillogley


It was special to see Beth and Rebecca Serven all the way from Missouri.


The Engell Family from Washington playing music.


The getaway car.

That is probably enough pictures for now. Later I will post some of the preparation pictures.

I've Been Busy

The last three days have been very busy. I have barely even been at home. My very good friend Jenny is getting married on Saturday! We have been over helping with many last minute preparations. We helped sew the bridesmaid dresses and we have been painting and planting flowers at the wedding location. Tomorrow I think we will be setting up chairs.

Happy Valentine's Day

Love suffers long and is kind;
love does not envy;
love does not parade itself,
is not puffed up;
does not behave rudely,
does not seek its own,
is not provoked,
thinks no evil;
does not rejoice in iniquity,
but rejoices in the truth;
bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

My Other Blog

I have started a new blog. It is more of a promotional blog for our Etsy shop. There will be fun polls, and giveaways on there as well as projects and crafts. That blog will have more creative projects and this blog will be more personal. But there may be some overlap as far as posts go. I am going to try to keep up both blogs. So we'll see how it goes :)

http://handdrawncards.blogspot.com/

New Books

I received two books for my birthday. The first is Wild Color by Jenny Dean. It is a wonderful book on making dyes from plants. So far I have tried three dyes. I will have to post pictures sometime. I have been wanting this book for a long time but it is out of print therefore hard to find(at least for a reasonable price). My sister was able to find it online and she got it for me. I have such a great sister.


The second book is The Rim of the Prairie by Bess Streeter Aldrich. It is a sweet, simple story that takes place in a small prairie town. It is beautifully written. The characters are so real. You feel like a part of their joys, heartache, laughter, and trials.

Walking this Road

The day was a lovely, sunshiny one. No clouds were in the sky. The road I was walking was easy, it meandered through meadows and along streams. Birds were singing and flowers blossoming. The way ahead around the bends looked inviting.
I said "Lord I will follow wherever You lead, I will walk this road with You."
Slowly the road became harder, clouds blew across the sky. Soon it was very dark and there were thorns across the path. The road had become rough and painful.
"Lord I don't understand, this isn't the way I thought it would be," I cried.
"Will you still trust Me?"
"The pain is too much, I can't see Your face through the tears."
"I am with you still holding your hand" was the reply.
I answered "Yes, Lord I will follow wherever You lead, I will walk down this road no matter how hard"

This sounds silly now that it is written out. These are just some thoughts that have gone through my head as I have struggled with something painful. I am learning to trust more deeply even when I don't understand.

Psalm 56:8
You number my wanderings;
Put my tears into Your bottle;
Are they not in Your book?

Psalm 23
A Psalm of David.
The LORD is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD
Forever.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.

Christmas Shortbread

The kitchen is quite a disaster.

The last few days have been grey and rainy, what better time to bake cookies. Shortbread is my favorite Christmas cookie. They are so fun because there are so many variations to try. This year I baked five different flavors. So, today I have been dipping and drizzling hundreds of little shortbread cookies. That is why the kitchen is a mess.

I usually use a basic recipe, then adjust it to my fancy :)

Basic Shortbread Recipe

1 Cup Butter
1/2-3/4 Cup Sugar
2 Cups Flour

Cream butter and sugar. Add flour and mix until combined. I usually end up using my hands. If dough is too sticky ad a bit more flour.
On a well floured board roll dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut with cookie cutters and place on ungreased cookie trays. Bake at 325 degrees for 10 -14 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

Shortbread Recipe Variations

Now for the fun part! These are the varieties I made this year. There are many other possibilities.

1. Ginger Spice
Add: 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 tsp. cloves
2/4 tsp. ginger

Dip in melted white chocolate

2. Hazelnut
Add: 2 Tbsp. maple syrup (use the smaller amount of sugar)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 Cup finely chopped hazelnuts

Dip or drizzle with melted milk chocolate

3. Peppermint
Add: 1-2 tsp. peppermint extract

Dip in melted dark or white chocolate.

4. Coffee
Add: 2 Tbsp. instant coffee granules
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Dip or drizzle in dark chocolate.

5. Orange

Add: 1-2 tsp. orange extract

Dip in dark chocolate.

I cut each variety with a different cookie cutter. It is fun and makes it easier to tell them apart.

In case you were wondering which ones are which in the pictures.

Hearts; hazelnut
Stars; coffee
Trees; peppermint
Angels; orange
Gingerbread boys; ginger spice

Red Roses...

...to wear in my hair to the ball.

A Special Visit

On Wednesday afternoon we had a special visit with the Serven Clan. They are out here in California for a little while. It was fun to see them again and catch up a little.

Enjoying good food and fellowship around the table.



After lunch we walked around outside to see the animals and our many projects. After returning inside we had fun sharing music together.
Here are some of the Servens singing a song for us.


More visiting.