Avery Bay Lilley

My Favorite Little People

Well, to be honest I have been trying to figure out how to begin blogging on my favorite subject, my sweet, G-Babies! You see, I wasn't sure if I should introduce each family together or to introduce each baby alone. I have decided to introduce each little person one at a time and then after that, I will just randomly share what is going on in their lives. My next decision was who to begin with, so naturally I decided to go oldest to youngest.
My oldest grandchild is a beautiful little girl. Avery Bay turned 3 years in December. Now, one of the things I love most about Avery is her sweetness. She says and does the sweetest things. Of course, she can be a stinker with the best of them, but most of the time, she's just darling!
I love the way Avery talks. Very clear and very adult. Last week, she told her daddy that she wanted to grow up and get married. (see what I mean?)
I love that every time I see Avery she welcomes me with a hug and a kiss. She is so hospitable. She has actually welcomed me with "Grandma, come in and sit down, would you like a drink?" I think Nole and Heather are doing a wonderful job raising this precious little girl. She makes faces just like her mommy and many parts of her personality remind me of her daddy when he was little. I will never forget the first time I saw her. My first grandchild! She stole my heart in an instant and will have it, forever.

Last week Jeff and I went to Fresno to have a day alone together before he went away for the week for work. Now, we do go to town for dates whenever we get the chance, but this time we did something different. Usually, we like to go out to eat, hang out at Barnes and Noble or go to the movies. The weather was so lovely, we didn't really want to be inside, so we decided to take a drive. I had no idea that you could drive just a short way down the road from Edward's Theatre and end up in the beautiful foothills. We drove up and saw The Table Mountain Casino (really ugly!) and then traveled along the edge of Millerton lake and enjoyed looking at all the homes there. We stopped and looked at some beautiful horses, which were soon joined by a bunch of goats! It was so fun to watch the goats stand on their hind legs to eat the leaves off of the trees. It was so beautiful, all the wild flowers and sunshine. I especially loved just being alone with Jeff. I am so greatful that we love to be together and we love to share our thoughts. We ended our day by having a yummy dinner at The Outback and then babysat our sweet grandkids so Nole and Heather could go out for dessert. Life doesn't get any better than that!

A nice drive and wonderful conversation

Oh, Dear, I love Deer...

I really do love deer. I have an ever growing collection of vintage deer in my home. Maybe it is because my parents took me to the mountains often and my father, a hunter was always pointing out the deer that he would see. He would talk about their beauty, the size of their antlers etc... with such joy and respect. I guess I couldn't help but like them too. These two belonged to my sweet mama. She is no longer here with me on earth, but the memory of her is all around my house. I think of her often and am so thankful for all the awesome things she taught me. Just recently, one of my girls thanked me for passing on a bit of wisdom to them and I smiled inside, because I had gotten it from my mom. I praise God for both of my parents. I miss them both so much. Treasure the time you have with your parents, it is a gift.

One More Pillow!

This pillow was a fun one to do, because I took a pillow I already had and just topstitched my fabric to the front! Of course, this would not be a good idea on a pillow that gets a lot of action, but for a bed or an unused bench, this works great. Instant edge fringe without all the work :)

As you can see, today I have been busy finishing up some of my projects. I am very happy to have my new curtains finished and two pillows like the one shown below. The large pillow on the couch has a matching one just like it on the other couch in the room. The seat cushion has some of my grandmother Strang's old black buttons on it. I love to use her old things whenever I can in my decorating. This color scheme is new for me, I'm trying to get used to it. I hope to add a few new things and put a few things away to make it all work together. My goal is to create a lighter feel for spring and summer. We'll see...

More Decorating Fun

More Decorating Fun

A "Girls" Weekend

Well, my weekend with my two oldest girls was just a blast! We shopped all day Saturday for Emily's wedding gown. Her Mother-In-Law to be, Robin came along with us and we had such a fun day. Emily looked so pretty in everything she tried on, it was hard for her to choose. But in the end she narrowed it down to two very beautiful gowns and finally made her choice. Of course, it is sooooo beautiful and perfect for Emily's special day. The whole weekend was great as we talked, talked, talked, looked through bridal magazines, ate, drank coffee, sat in the hot tub and kissed little Gwendolyn and Gabriel when they were around. I guess my favorite thing of the whole weekend was just watching my girls together. AnnaMae was such a good helper and encourager and Emily was very thoughtful of all of us as we focused on wedding details. The weekend ended with morning coffee at Starbucks with Cody and Emily before Emily went back to work, Cody home after two full days of work and me off to the drive home. Cody was so cute and excited about the details of the weekend. I think Emily has made a great choice, in her dress and in her future husband.