Counting Our Blessings - Linkup

It's the second Tuesday of the New Year - how have things been going for you? I hope well. I'm doing my best to stick to my goals and not beating myself up for those days when I'm too tired or too much in pain to do a lot. I look at where I was last year at this time and I see so much progress! That's what I choose to focus on. I hope you are doing the same and giving yourself grace on the hard days.

I'm so thankful for these two...

I shared that Muffy, our pug, is now 16 years old. She is completely deaf and almost blind. She also has been having a harder time getting around and, because of that, wasn't eating out of her bowl enough to keep herself healthy. I decided she needed to be fed canned food and so now I feed her twice daily (off a fork!) the richer canned food and she is doing so much better! She sits on one chair and I sit on another and I hand feed her. It's quite a sight! lol  I've seen a huge improvement in her mobility and strength so I'm so glad that I can do this for her. One of these days, I'm going to take a video of me feeding her. 😉

The other guy in the picture does so much for his mama. He has become a dependable person that truly cares about his family and others. I could write pages of what a blessing he is but suffice to say, he is a wonderful man and I'm so proud of him!

I haven't done as much creatively as I would have liked this week but I am working on a new cross stitch kit by Mill Hill Beads.  I know I keep working on these kits, but I enjoy them so much and think they are so beautiful when they are done. Here's the kit I'm working on now.

Isn't this such a cute kit? This reminds me so much of when I lived in Nevada and all the burros that were there. It's such a great project to commemorate my time of living there. There is a lot of bead work to this one on Santa's outfit. I always do all the stitching first and them the beading so looking forward to that.  Here's what I have done so far

You can see my pencil marks on the paper where I figured out the center.  I will erase them if they aren't stitched over at the end.  Such a cute little burro! I love when I get enough stitched to be able to see what it is.

I hope you had a week full of blessing.  Please share on the linky below!


Blessings - Julie

Hobby Lobby Haul

A friend of mine went to Hobby Lobby and shared that they had put things in every department on sale for 75% off! I never knew they did this so had to check it out, of course. 😊 I headed straight for the stitching area and found some lovely kits! I thought I'd share my haul with you today.

 Adorable! I just love the bird and the message of "Be Joyful". Do you see the price? $5.00! It had been $19.99.

Isn't this kitty adorable? That face! I love the Gold Collection kits so had to have this cutie.

This is a needlepoint kit. I used to do needlepoint all the time and find it very relaxing. I thought this was such a pretty kit, and at $7.50, how could I pass it up? Everything is in there so such a bargain!

This is my favorite kit I found. I love this company and was surprised to find it, actually. I will love stitching this little guy!

Then I found they had also put the embroidery pillow cases on sale! I think they are so expensive so never buy them but always look at them. I have such wonderful memories of stitching pillow cases with my mother during the winter months. We would sit in our pajamas all day and just stitch away. I picked out two different designs, although I won't be using the colors they have on the front. I'll be going with pinks, blues and purples.

It was so fun getting these bargains! I have to give credit to my husband, too, who takes me, pushes me in a wheelchair, and waits patiently while I look at EVERYTHING! I am so blessed by him and thank him every day for all he does for me. I had such a good time. Hope you enjoyed seeing my little haul from Hobby Lobby. 😊

Blessings - Julie

Counting Our Blessings - Linkup!

It's time to count our blessings! I hope you do that every day but I love having this set time to focus on the blessings from God.

6.  I shared some of the beautiful gifts my youngest son and hubby gave me for Christmas on Sunday. I wanted to share the final counted cross stitch kits they gave me.

I'm a huge Marjolein Bastin fan and I think this is such a beautiful four seasons kit. I have been wanting to do a set of four seasons pictures for years. My grandmother had a set she stitched on her wall and I admired them so while growing up. Now I can make my own!

7.  These ornament kits just speak to my heart. I love birds and animals and these charts are so amazing in their detail!

My son gave me these and he even got the special kits that go with each one! Aren't they adorable?

8.  My husband gave me this gorgeous kit. When I saw this, it just spoke to my fox-loving heart! Those eyes are just amazing!

Such an amazing kit! I can't get over how realistic this is.

9.  Finally, we have the ultimate in gifts because it's a POODLE! Oh my goodness...I can't stand the cuteness of this kit!

I love this!! The little bows on the ears and the ribbon on the top-knot are such cute extras.

Yes, I'm going to be very, very busy stitching this year, but what could be better? I'm so thankful to my youngest son and husband. Being home-bound isn't easy but having all these lovely kits to work on will make the hours go by in a wonderful way. I'm so thankful and so blessed!

It's your turn to share your blessings! Just click on the linky below.



Blessings - Julie

My Christmas Gifts

My youngest son and hubby were so incredibly generous this past Christmas! My son especially went way above and beyond what he should have. He emphasized to me, though, that he wanted my Christmas to be special. Honestly? It was special because we had such a lovely family time together - enjoying each other. However, the gifts were just a huge cherry on top because they are all stitchy gifts!!

Don't you adore these Celtic Santa's? They are so cute! They speak to my UK loving heart. 😉

Then I received these amazing Mill Hill kits. A lot of them are to be finished magnets but all of my pieces will be made into ornaments for my tree.

Each and every one is absolutely stunning! I love the beading on them and, on a few of the birds, there is a special thread that looks like feathers sticking up! Can you stand it? So CUTE!

There is more, dear friends. Yes, more. I will share the other kits on my Counting Our Blessings post on Tuesday.

Blessings - Julie