Blue Monday & Bringing Justice to Bella!

Good afternoon! Welcome to my Blue Monday Post. Thank you Sally for Hosting Blue Monday ever week. It has been a while since I have participated, but I have been collecting photos.... ;-)

I am going to have a double post type thing today.  I hope you enjoy it! 

Many of you have seen my chalk board before.  I love it!  Planning on making some for Christmas presents this year.  Isn't that teacup pretty?  $1.47 cents at The Foundry Thrift Store.  Yep!  Johnson Brothers.  White bone china made in England.  I thought only Manuel found bargains like that.  I guess going to her blog has rubbed off on me. ;-) They only had one set, but I thought it would be perfect for holding my chalk and sponges I use for my chalk board!  Kewl huh!  I will photograph and talk about the lamp on another post.  The coffee cup, I have several of.  I think I paid $ for them some where, like our favorite place... the $$$$ tree?  I don't remember.  I have so many blue coffee cups from the $$$ tree.  LOL my favorite place to buy them. 

November is a time that we are thankful for so many blessings that God has given us.  I am thankful for the wonderful Christian husband that God has given me.  The blessing of a beautiful and sweet daughter who knows and loves the Lord. 

November is also a month that churches are coming together and putting an emphasis on the orphans in our country and our world and  an emphasis on adoption.  Orphan Sunday was November 8th.  There was a live event that was tele/webcast  all over the country and to other parts of the world and what a blessing it was!  If you did not get an opportunity to see it, either at your local church or online, I will post a link at the end of this post.  You will be able to view it at your leisure.  

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come for you.  John 14:18
Did you know that in this country alone, there are over 140,000 children in the foster system?  Most need homes and need them soon.  What would happen if the churches stood up and did what God commanded us to do and care for the fatherless?  This number would be...zero.  Worldwide, the number of orphans run into the millions!  What a testimony it would be for the Christians to step forward and not just support these children, but give them a family, a home.  A Godly Christian home and a loving family...

Many feel lead to answer the call that God has put on their hearts.  Adoption is expensive.  Whether through children's services, domestic or foreign, it is very costly.  Often times a family who does a foreign adoption will plan on one child and come home with multiples. Because of this expense, many couples are coming up with creative ways to pay for adoptions in order to not go into debt or add on additional debt.  You might say, "but what  about the 'tax credit'?"  It is nominal compared to the overall expense. 

I want to introduce to you one such family, the Wilbanks. (Don't you think a little girl would look precious between these 2 boys?!?  I do!)

You can read more about their testimony of God's calling here on their blog Bringing Justice to Orphans .  They are in the process of adopting a baby girl from India.  Her name is Bella. They are using their blog as one source of raising money toward Bella's adoption expenses and have opened a Just Love Coffee store on their blog!  $5 from of every bag of coffee purchased from the Wilbanks' Coffee Store goes into a fund to help in offsetting Bella's adoption expenses.  I know most of y'all love good coffee.  (I read about your coffee drinking on your blogs all the time! :-D) And let me tell you, Brittnie would not be selling it if it was not good!  B/c like me, she is picky about her coffee.  Feel free to post a link to their Wilbanks' Coffee Store  on your side bar, just as I have done. 
I also told you I would post a link for Orphan Sunday Webcast.  Fix yourself a cuppa, sit back and enjoy!

Don't forget to go by our wonderful Hostess' blog, Smiling Sally, and check out the other Blue Monday Posts that are linked there.  You may even want to participate!

Sunday Video

A beautiful ballad by Steven Curtis Chapman.  He sang this at the Cry of the Orphan Concert.  A true testimony to his faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Enjoy.

Chic Day!

Have y'all missed me! I have missed you! Very much. Looking forward to blogging more in the future. :-)

Today I am participating in Tablescape Thursday hosted by Susan of "Between Naps on the Porch". Thank you Susan for hosting! After reading my post, stop by her blog to see more Tablescape posts. Many beautiful ideas there!

Wed the 11th, being Veterans Day (Veterans and those currently serving in our armed forces, thank you so much for your service to our country.) school was out. DD and I had a long awaited "Chick Day" planned. We were going to watch Sense and Sensibility (the PBS one with Hugh Grant...), but somehow we watched Spiderwick. I guess you could make that a "Chick Flick" if you use your imagination hard enough. LOL! Then we went on a bike ride. That was fun and we had the perfect weather for it.

Now our "Chick Days" always involve going to a Tea Room. DD and I just love Miss Rosemarie's Tea Room in Hoover, Alabama.

And I thought, "I will get photos of the Table Scapes as well, and I will participate in Susan's Tablescape Thursday!"

Miss Rosemarie's tables are always beautiful! Lovely china, some matching, some not.

She has shelves of teapots, tea cups, teas (many her own blends),  cookbooks and other wares for sale all about the tearoom.

DD is hungry! Looking forward to FOOD!

Most of the tables are antiques or vintage.
She has a layer of glass over all of them to protect the finish.

Each table also has a Mint Julip cup with roses. Very pretty.

The tea of the day is Orange Spice! Only served this time of year. It is wonderful!

DD got a tall glass of Sweet Iced Blackrasberry Tea. It is so good!

DD ordered Roast Beef with Tomato Basil Soup.

I ordered quiche, crab crapes, salad and a cup of mushroom soup. YUM!

I love Miss Rosemarie's soups. And I love how it is served in this lovely tea cup!

No more pictures mom!!! (She cleaned her plate and bowl!)

I had a Walnut Maple Scone for dessert,
but it jumped into my tummy before I could take a photo! ;-)

I just love all these tea sets.

Don't forget to stop by Susan's blog, Between Naps on the Porch, to see more table scape posts or to participate yourself!

And if you are ever in the Hoover/Birmingham Alabama area, go by Miss Rosemarie's tea room. You will not be disappointed.

A kewl thing I forgot to mention about Miss Rosemarie's Tea Room is, if you are wearing dark clothes you get a black linen napkin. If you are wearing light colored clothes you get a white linen napkin. Reason? Lint that the napkin leaves behind. :-) Rosemarie, who usually wears dark slacks or skirt, told me once that she always hated going into a restaurant, place a white linen napkin on her lap and have the lint on her clothes the rest of the day. And the black napkins do the same thing to lighter clothing. So she keeps plenty of both. Great idea!

Over the Rainbow Bridge

My DD's little Budgie hen, Candie, (right) passed away earlier today. She leaves behind her husband of 4 years, "Tweety" (left) and one son, Elvis. (Yellow Harliquin on the sidebar.)

She started showing signs of congestive heart failure in late July. 2-3 weeks ago, had some sort of stroke that crippled her on the right side. Tweety cared for her by helping her move around the cage, get to the water and by feeding her. We attached the nesting box to the cage as it kept her from having to perch. She stayed in there most of the time as Tweety would get her food and water when she needed it.

It was a very sweet love story to watch.

With the help of a friend, DD buried her later this afternoon. Rest in peace little one.

Photography Special!!!

I am currently offering a Fall Portrait Special on my Business Blog. Go to Images by "Missy" to check it out!

I Broke a Promise to My Husband....

...that I made to him 17 years ago and last week I made Tuna Casserole!!! Just before we married, (17 years ago Saturday) he made me promise that I would never make and serve him Tuna Casserole. I have gone 17 years without Tuna Casserole!!! And I have really been craving it. Yum yum!

Look at this delicious mixture. Light chunk and albacore tuna, cream of mushroom soup, fresh broccoli and grated cheese.


And cooked brown rice... yum!

I could not find any saltines, but I did find some wheat things so that is what I used. And added more cheese. Look at that hot bubbly cheese. Yum!!!h

Serve it up! A meal in one dish on a plate. Oh it is so good! DH took a small spoonful and asked that I never make it again. DD took one "thank you" bite then made herself a PBJ.

More for Me!!! :D

Tuna Casserole
2 cans of tuna~drained
Bag of frozen broccoli~Fresh works well too
1 Can of Campbells Cream of Mushroom Soup
Steamed rice
Diced or shredded cheese
Saltines

Mix together, pour up into 2qt casserole dish and bake in oven for about 30 minutes.

Thank you Gollum for hosting Foodie Friday. To see more Foodie Friday Treats go to Gollum's Blog.

A Tag and an Award!

Several months ago, Sweet Robin at My Blessed Nest tagged me. (Actually she tagged me on my business blog, but I have decided to keep in only business and award/tag free so I am posting it here!) I have not been blogging very much. A couple of projects have kept me busy and I have been wanting to make summer fun for DD in my spare time!

I am to tell 6 things about myself and tag 6 more people.

1. I am a Christian. Accepted the Lord as my Savior when I was 7. I know, young, but that was when I knew I was a sinner and needed to ask Jesus into my heart. My SS teacher followed me to the alter and led me to the Lord. I will never forget it.
   
2. I am Baptist. Raised Southern Baptist. The church I go to is part of the Southern Baptist Convention, but is considered Reformed Baptist.
3. One of my hobbies is teaching exercise classes.
   
4. Another hobby is sewing and crafting. I started learning to sew when I was 5. That is started learning... There are no projects around from when I was 5.... They must not have been that good. LOL!
5. I was a brownie and a girl scout
6. I am a Freelance Photographer and you will see a link to my business blog over in my right sidebar.

Now to pass this tag onto 6 people. :D

• Valerie at ~ It's a Wonderful Life ~She lives near me and one day we will meet!
• Anya at ~ Hills Creek Quilter
  
• Nina at ~ Portugal Bound
  
• Kat at Kat's Corner
• Debbie at Jadehollow
• Stephanie at Lulu's Cottage
  

I am looking forward to visiting these fine ladies blogs and seeing what they say about themselves. And the rules are they are to tell 6 things about themselves and pass the tag along to 6 more people! Link back to the tagger's blog and link to the blogs you tag.

Now to show an Award.....

A sweet award from Valerie at It's a Wonderful Life... The Super Comments Award!

I feel very humbled and honored to be given this award, as I have not been much of a commenter of late.

I will pass this award to 6 people/bloggers.

1. Sally at Smilling Sally's Blog~ She never fails to comment. We could all learn from her. Thank you Sally for all of your encouragement to all of us bloggers!
2. Kitty at A bit of Fluff~Really Quite Messy ~ So sweet! And in her limited time for blogging, never fails to take the time to say "Hello!"
3. Nancy at ~Southern Lady~ and a true Southern Lady she is! And never fails to stop by to see what is going on.
   
4. Susan at A Southern Daydreamer ~ Runs her own Outdoor Wed Party every week, keep a busy schedule and still manages to speak to all her participants and comments on new posts. (She and Sally are toss ups for Comment Queens!)
5. Robin at My Blessed Nest ~ Who lives near me and one day, we will get to meet. :-)
   
6. C at Primitive Devotion ~ Missed her while she was gone and she is back with us! :-)

And the rules are they are to post the award and who awarded them with a link back to that the awarders blog and pass the blog to 6 other bloggers and link them to the post.

I hope everyone is having a great Thursday and planning on a wonderful weekend! Please take a moment to visit the above blogs, congratulate them and see what they have to say.

Hugs,
Missy