Grandma & Me Around The Christmas Tree

I am thrilled to show you my Christmas photos with the grand babies today as I think I have the cutest little munchkins in the whole wide world!

This year I decorated my tree with white and a frosty mint, although I feel you can barely see the frosty mint color in the tree.  I think that will change when I add the presents under the tree as I purchased some mint ribbon I will wrap the presents with.  The mint ribbon should bring out the mint in the tree more...I hope so anyway.

To coordinate with the colors on the tree, we all wore shades of white, grey and mint.  I couldn't believe how we all pulled items out of our closet and everything came so well together.

This is my favorite picture of the photo shoot.  I just love the smile on my little guy's face.  What a cute little pumpkin he is!

Alethea is growing up so fast now it breaks my heart.  She is definitely transforming from a toddler to a little girl right before my eyes.  

Alethea is three and Atticus is one.  Alethea wore an all white dress.  The bodice is satin with a floral design, and the skirt has a pretty white tulle overlay.  Atticus tied our color theme all together with his cute mint green pants and adorable grey cable knit cardigan.

Of course we had to bring the family sleigh out for the annual Christmas photo!  My son bought this sleigh for my husband and I for Christmas many years ago....before we even had grandchildren!  When we received it, we said it would be great to put grand babies in for holiday pictures.  Little did we know then how much use this sleigh would really get.  It will be a family heirloom for sure!  The only problem is, the kids love it so much they play with it likes a toy and my hubby is constantly nervous they will break it.  

This little guy is quite the snuggler!  He doesn't have any rocking chairs in his home, and I have two!  He got such a kick out of my "chairs that move" and loved to cuddle with me and rock in them.

Alethea  warms my heart because she is always so excited to see her grandma and grandpa.  She giggles and screams when she sees us for the first time after a long absence and then runs into our arms.  It's wonderful to feel such love like that.

Well now that I have spent quite enough time bragging about the grand kids, on to "Fashion Over Fifty".  My dress was pulled from my closet, but it has never been worn before.  I bought it from TJMaxx in-between lockdowns.  Our church opened up in spring, after the first lockdown,  and we thought we would be going regularly;  so I purchased this dress as a winter  outfit to wear to church.  I thought it would look so cute with a black cardigan and tall black boots.  But then fall came, along with a rise of Covid cases, so our church closed again and I never had the opportunity to wear my new dress.  I therefore thought, I might as well wear it for the photo shoot so I get some use out of it.  It ended up coordinating so well I was thrilled with my purchase!

The dress is a classic design, so even though I may never be able to wear it out of the house this year, I'm hoping I'll get some use out of it in the years to come.  It's a tweed material with a light grey background and black threads woven through out.  It is a fitted shift dress with two black buttons on the front.

I wore light grey panty hose (I know, so out of date, but us Wisconsin gals can't go bare legged in winter) and accented with mint green shoes and jewelry to go with the mint in the Christmas Tree.

Have A Great Day!  Amy

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Hiking Grandad Bluff

The weather has been so beautiful that hubby and I have continued our hiking adventures long past when the leaves have fallen.  We have been finding that the views are even more amazing in late fall because there is no foliage on the trees to obstruct your views.  

This week's hiking trail is Grandad Bluff in LaCrosse, Wisconsin

Grandad Bluff is located on the east side of LaCrosse.  It is 590 feet above the surrounding land and 1183 above sea level.  There is a beautiful look out point that you can drive up and access from a short walk from the parking lot.  There are also many hiking trails all throughout the park and surrounding area.

From the top of Grandad Bluff you get a scenic view of the Mississippi River Valley along with three states:  Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa.

The area that I live in is one of the most scenic areas in the state of Wisconsin.  It is called the Driftless Area.  The region escaped the flattening effects of glaciation during the last ice age and is consequently characterized by steep, forested ridges, deeply carved river valleys, and karst geology characterized by spring-fed waterfalls and cold-water trout streams (i.e. Wikipedia).  

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There are two look out points at the top of Grandad Bluff, the large one pictured in the third picture above and a smaller one to the side.

After we soaked in the view, we decided to take in some of the trails on top of the bluff.  The first trail we took led us around the side of the bluff.  You can see how the trail is cut into the side of the bluff in all the pictures below.

As much as I enjoy hiking when the fall colors are at their peak, it's also fun hiking once all the leaves have fallen and hear the crunching of leaves under your feet!

The trail eventually led us to the underside of the bluff overlook we were previously standing on.

To our surprise, we discovered that they were in the process of creating a new trail system for both bikers and hikers on Grandad Bluff.  Most of it was completed and useable, but they were still working on it when we were there.  We decided to also explore some of these short trails.  They looked really fun for mountain biking because they created little hills on the trail for extra thrills.  My husband and I started thinking "Hmmm, maybe we need to get mountain bikes and join in on all the fun!"

Although much lower than Grandad Bluff, there were scenic lookouts on this trail too!

A view of Grandad Bluff as seen from below.

After hiking we enjoyed lunch at one of our favorite restaurants in LaCrosse then headed home.  However, the nature viewing wasn't over yet, as we had several wonderful surprises on the way home!

We had a young buck cross right in front of our car.

Then we got to see many Tundra Swans as they stop in the Driftless Region every year around this time on their way south for the winer.

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

October Bible Journaling Pages

This month's October Bible Journaling Pages will be a first:  nothing but pre-colored pages.  I do not know if it was a time issue or I wasn't inspired, but I did not create any of my own pages.  However, I still diligently read and studied God's Word every day.

The month of October took me through the book of Proverbs and into the book of Ecclesiastes.  I enjoyed reading the Proverbs every day and reflecting on its wisdom but with all the misery in the world today I wasn't in the mood for Ecclesiastes, yet, I plunged through the book anyway.

So I don't repeat myself, all images are either colored with pencils or gel pens.  I tend to use pencils in the larger areas (like the heart or box of the word "life" below and gel pens for the intricate areas.  When I highlight scripture in my Bible, I use colorful gel highlighters.  Some of the larger backgrounds were colored with gelatos.

Since I didn't create any of my own pages this month, I will just make a brief statement of what each verse means to me.

"Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life."

This is always good advice to follow, but I think it's exceptionally true now.  We are living in perilous times and many people are being misled and deceived.  We must guard our hearts from the lies that are being spread.  We must guard our hearts from fear.  We have to protect our hearts by what we watch or listen to so that we can have the life God wants us to have.

"The words of the godly encourage many"

Use your words to encourage people,  especially today.  People really need encouragement right now, there is enough discouragement out there as it is, don't be someone who adds to it.  Go out of your way to be kind, be generous, and to be loving.

"Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed"

Don't rely on your own strengths and skills, rather put your faith in God.  He will give you wisdom to help  you.

"The name of the Lord is a strong fortress;  the godly run to Him and are safe"

Oh, how I love verses like these, especially during the difficult season we are living in right now.  I see so many people living in fear right now.  We do not need to be afraid if God is the Lord of our Life!  These are verses I cling to, that I say out loud, every time even a little bit of worry starts to cross my mind.  When you are afraid, call on HIS NAME!  RUN to Him, and you will be safe.

"A house is built by wisdom"

If your home/family has Jesus as it's foundation, you will have wisdom to know how to conduct your marriage, raise your children, and you will have a happy home.

Not all images in the Inspired Bible are bible verses.  This page just says "Wisdom" which is what the book of Proverbs is all about. 

"The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense"

I love the phrase "heartfelt counsel".  There is a big difference between giving advice or telling a friend what you think they should do and "heartfelt counsel".  Someone who truly cares for you will always counsel you in love and out of genuine concern for you.

"A woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised".

As a Christian woman the most important thing my friends and family should know about me is not my beauty or my skills but whether or not I fear the Lord.

This is the cover page for the Book of Ecclesiastes.  The verse "For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven" summarizes this entire book.

There are many seasons of life, we are unfortunately living in a terrible season of life right now with Covid.  But like all seasons, it will eventually end and we will move on to another one.  We have to learn and grow with every season of life God puts us through.

"God has made everything beautiful for its own time.  He has planted eternity in the human heart."

So often when we go through difficult times in life we can't see or understand what God is doing.  Then, years, or even decades later we see the "beauty" or the "fruit" of what that time period produced.  In all our hearts is placed the knowledge of eternal life. 

"Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed".

We all need support in our lives, whether it's a marriage partner, family, or friend.  We help each other succeed in life.

I hope you enjoyed looking at my Bible Journaling pages this month and hearing some personal reflection of each verse.  I'd love to hear what some of these verse mean to you in the comments below.

Have A Great Day!  Amy

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