I'm a Collector...Are You?

I am a collector of sorts. Sure I collect "normal" things like Willow Tree angels, serving pieces (ceramic, acrylics, etc), stationary, gifts for giving and the like but I also collect other "things". For instance, open my kitchen utensil draw and you will find, among other things, three ziploc "collection" bags...one with tab tops from Coke type cans, one with "Box Tops", and one with Campbells labels. All of these items are collected by Emma's school for various purposes. It is so easy to do our part, and really has become addictive...Emma and I both look over our grocery items for the Box Tops and Campbells labels and we have even employed the grandparents on both sides to help with our efforts on all three collections! And I guess I would be fooling myself if I did not admit that I collect laundry too! Whether clean or dirty, I always seem to have lots of it! Got to go! I hear the rinse cycle on the washer! What do you collect?

Alabama Football Players Make Smiles Happen

Chuck and Emma went to a Providence v. Rehobeth baseball game tonight. Three University of Alabama football players were there to sign autographs. Boy doesn't my little girl look happy! Here, she is pictured with Leigh Tiffin, Javier Arenas and Cory Reamer. She got her National Championship hat autographed and hasn't stopped talking about it! I asked her if she offered to throw a few passes with them and she rolled her eyes! I may sound like a boastful mother, but I think the players would have been surprised! Her daddy has certainly built himself a huge 8 year old fan!

Let is Snow!

Well, it finally snowed in the south! This was our very small snowman in the front yard. He had tootsie roll eyes, sweetart smile, and candy cane arms. And of course an Alabama cap!





Ella took this picture of me and Emma. A little off center but pretty good for a 3 year old photographer with mittens on!

Sweet Ella! She was sooo excited about the snow!

These 2 looked like trouble! They both balled up snowball after snowball.

Emma loved the snow so much she went out in it 3 different times!

Ella wanted to catch snowflakes on her tongue. She made sure I knew she wasn't "sticking her tongue out" at anyone when she was "eating" snowflakes!

I love my sweet girls so much and am soooo glad they got to experience "snow". Thank you God for the snow! I have memories of snow at our home in Tennessee when I was about Ella's age. The snow then was as tall as I was. We will take what we can get here though! Loved it all!

I was pretty impressed with myself!

I wanted to make some Valentine's treats and I found these cute muffin tins made by Reynolds that were shaped like hearts! There were 24 in the package and someone else must have thought they were cute too because when I returned to Target for more, they were sold out! But I did make 24 of them for gifts at school and everyone seemed impressed. I used a brownie mix that is now my favorite...Milk Chocolate!

This was all I needed....plus some eggs and oil.








I iced hearts inside the heart and this was the finished treats. Then....







I wrapped them in cellophane baggies to make them "cute".

If anyone ever sees shaped muffin tins like these in other designs, please let me know! I thought it was a fun way to celebrate. Last summer I got star shaped ones at the Dollar Tree but that was the last I have seen of them until this February. Happy Valentines Day!

Valentines Time

This is how Valentine's Day (week) looks around our home. We love to decorate for "holidays" but Valentine's Day kind of sneaks up on us each year. Any way this is the short of our celebrating this year!










"Frosted sugar cookies with colorful sprinkles" - A hit from Target at 10/$2.75. As you see there are no longer "10" in the package!









My sweet Ella after school today...Her shirt says "Bee Mine" in case you can't read it. And yes that is Hershey Kisses making her teeth a brown tint. Her dentist might not approve!

These hand towels say it all - "Be Mine", "Love" and "Hug Me". I have hung them in our kitchen each year for the past three years. They always seem to get knocked around and pulled off but keep returning year after year!







All I can say is "Pure Sin".












This is a simple banner I found at Wal-Mart. I pinned it to our kitchen curtains and my children thought we were having a "party". And yes we have toile curtains in the kitchen...not sure it is approved by the design teams or not...We had one of the girls birthday parties at our home and one of the more in-the-know moms said "I never thought of putting toile in the kitchen". So my thought was it was not appropriate, but I kind of like them so they are staying for now!
Happy Valentines Day to you and those you love!