In Your Easter Bonnet

Judy Garland and Fred Astaire in Easter Parade

In your Easter bonnet, with all the frills upon it,
You'll be the grandest lady in the Easter Parade.
I'll be all in clover and when they look you over,
I'll be the proudest fellow in the Easter Parade.
On the avenue, Fifth Avenue, the photographers will snap us,
And you'll find that you're in the rotogravure.
Oh, I could write a sonnet about your Easter bonnet,
And of the girl I'm taking to the Easter Parade.
        ~Irving Berlin



Easter ushers in the season of rebirth and renewal...a celebration of the resurrection of nature and, most importantly, our Savior, Jesus Christ.  Growing up in a wonderful, Christian home, the Easter Sundays of my childhood are some of my fondest memories.  As a young child, I may not have fully understood the significance of the day, but I knew enough to understand it was a celebration of Jesus and His sacrifice for us.  It was also a day to be with family, to feast on wonderful, traditional food, to get dressed up in new, spring colored clothing, to wear my white shoes for the first time since the end of the previous summer, and to marvel at the brightly colored Easter eggs and all the wonderful chocolate treats and special gifts my mother and grandmother would place in my Easter basket.  My beloved "Granddaddy" would always bring me a beautiful corsage to wear to church, and I could not wait to put it on with my pretty spring dress.

But one of my favorite things about Easter Sunday (call it the girl in me) was seeing all the beautiful hats the ladies of the church would wear on that special day!  My grandmother always had beautiful hats and gloves to wear to church, but on Easter Sunday, she would always wear something extra special.  This may have been the origin of my fascination with hats and, especially, Easter Bonnets.

As long as I can remember, I have loved hats - so much so, that I have a collection of beautiful, vintage hats displayed on a coat stand in my home.  I have many others in boxes in closets or displayed in the top of a Victorian trunk in one of my guest rooms.  I adore them.  If I could get by with it, I would enjoy wearing a hat every day! 

Easter bonnets are top of the list for me as far as hats go...right up there with the beautiful hats women still wear to the Kentucky Derby...but those are for another post.  In celebration of the upcoming Easter holiday, here are a few photographs of a few gorgeous Easter Bonnets.  Enjoy!

Have a beautiful day!

God’s Word is just as accurate as His works. You can set your clock by His sun, and you can charter your course by His Word.


Have a blessed day,

Our Dream Come True

If you have followed our blog for any time, you know that my DH and I have been trying to adopt for many years. We finally received "the call," and were able to bring home our beautiful baby boy. Isn't he amazing?

He is the answer to hundreds of prayers we prayed. We thank God for this precious gift.

Prayers Answered

We witness a miracle every time a child enters into life.
But those who make their journey home across time & miles,
growing within the hearts of those who wait to love them,
are carried on the wings of destiny and placed among us
by God's very own hands.
-- Kristi Larson



I am sorry that I have been away for a few weeks, but it was due to the most amazing event.  We finally were successful in our attempt to adopt a baby, and we brought home an amazing, beautiful newborn baby boy. He is gorgeous and truly a gift from God. Our many, many prayers were answered and years of waiting finally came to an end.  We could not be more ecstatic. I will post more soon about our adoption journey and our beautiful son.

God's Language

"Silence is the first language of God; all else is a poor translation." Thomas Merton

In this world full of noise and chaos, are you taking the time to listen to that sweet, small, subtle voice of God?

Photograph by Christopher Talbot Frank

Blessings,

Hope & Trust

Hope is both the earliest and the most indispensable virtue

inherent in the state of being alive.

If life is to be sustained, hope must remain,

even where confidence is wounded, trust impaired.
~Erik H. Erikson

My husband and I have been hoping to adopt for a very long time. We have been through all of the home study requirements, the home visits, the background checks and fingerprinting. We have worked through both an agency and an attorney in hope of finding a birthmother. We started on this journey over two years ago, and today, still...we wait.

The nursery is ready. The stuffed animals and toys sit on the dresser and on the shelves with the children's books. We painted artwork for the room. We have taken every precaution as far as safety and comfort. And, still....we wait.

I keep a waiting journal. I write about all the things we are doing in preparation for a little one. I write letters to our baby, even though we don't know his or her name or face. We talk about "the baby" as if he or she are already with us. Every decision we make in our daily lives are made with our baby in mind. But, still...we wait.

Today, although I try so hard to keep hope in my heart, it is difficult not to feel that this may never happen after so much time has passed. I truly believe that all things happen in God's own precious time, but...what if He is saying no, and I am just not listening? What if I am prolonging this vigil because I want to, and it really isn't His will? What if I am ignoring Him? I have battled with this for some days now. I admit that my hope is waning, but I trust God...still. I trust Him to let me know in no uncertain terms what our future holds, and I know He will tell me if I open my heart to hear.

And I trust Him...even if the answer is no.

Never forget.

Christ is Risen!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"And as the women were terrified

and bowed their faces to the ground,

the men said to them,

"Why do you seek the living One among the dead?

He is not here, but He has risen."

Luke 24:5-6 (NAS)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

OUR SAVIOR HAS RISEN!

Happy and Blessed Easter, Everyone!

Art: After The Ascension

Heather Hanchuk

Mixed media

Heavenly Sunlight

Walking in sunlight all of my journey,
Over the mountains, through the deep vale;
Jesus has said, I’ll never forsake thee—
Promise divine that never can fail.

Heavenly sunlight! Heavenly sunlight!
Flooding my soul with glory divine;
Hallelujah! I am rejoicing,
Singing His praises, Jesus is mine!

Have a beautiful Sunday enjoying God's beauty and Grace.

Hymn written by Henry J. Zelley, 1899

Photo courtesy of www.thefrontporchview.com

Sunday Scripture: Releasing the Past & Looking Forward

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

~Philippians 3:12-14

Today in church, our minister read the preceding verse. His message was on forgiving ourselves for things in our past, but not necessarily forgetting those things lest we make the same mistakes again. He said that we must forgive our past sins in order to look to the future, in order to grow spiritually. We all have things in our past which are difficult to let go, but until we can do so, we may be hindering ourselves in our walk with God. We may ask God to forgive us, but do we really forgive ourselves? Until we can, we may never be able to move forward toward the goal of a closer relationship with Him, a closer walk in faith.

My goal for this year is to examine those things for which I've never been able to just let go. This week, during the first month of a new year, is a good time to begin this journey of letting go of the past. As simple as it sounds, that is one of the hardest things for some of us to do. But it's time. We all should take the time to look back, remember, let go, and move forward. I am ready to release the past and replace it with God's love and mercy.