2010

Wishing all my family, friends and readers a very prosperous and blessed 2010.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.
~ Lord Tennyson Alfred, 1850

Happy New Year!

2009

2009 ain’t just an ordinary year for us, it was simply an exciting, an amazing and an exhausting year; we were forever on-the-go (and still is)! Continuing from my December 1 post, “Where This Year Has Gone??”, here’s a bit of what I am thankful and grateful for (in no random order) :-

- Getting a handwritten letter/card in the mail box

- Old friends

- New friends

- The launch of www.SeaArtisans.com

- Having the ability to work from home and enjoy motherhood

- Disposable diapers

- The Psalms

- The snooze button that’s so not within reach

- My three year old is all about singing especially after the long and hard practice from his first school Christmas programs about a month ago. It does not matter that he is still fairly unfamiliar with the lyrics (just about any song), He just forges right ahead!

- The smell of Pine Sol on my clean-clean floor after our fabulous housekeeper Julia left the house.

- The success of Ye Olde Gift Market 2009

- When each of us talk about our favorite part of the day

- Our health

- The sight of my dog and my son, sleeping peacefully together.

- Indonmee

- The Noggin

- My customers informed me how much they or their loved ones enjoy the items they have purchased from Southeast Asia Artisans

- My monthly EDF edition

- When Christopher points out that the trees and the grass is happy because they get watered (even in the worst of storm)

- My dishwasher

- Our Christmas presents

- The sound of my little man laughing while playing with his daddy or Sammy in the next room, when they don’t know I am listening

- The birth of this blog

- My assortment of CDs when I need them, especially Richard Clayderman collection (Thanks hon.)

- The ability to help put together Christmas care package for the troops

- Our house feels more like home

- Pre-school

- My boy's funny jokes…and the not-so-funny ones

- The length and depth of the love from our Lord

- Sudoku

- Online shopping

- When my son understands that if he continues with unacceptable behavior, he’ll have to stay longer at the time-out wall. We know that he knew because he does the same to his precious Charlie Brown and Baby Jaguar.

- That I heard this phrase, “God uses parenthood and marriage to help shape OUR character. There are eternal rewards for your efforts.”

What about you? Leave me a comment and tell me something interesting that happened to you or something you are thankful in the last “close-to” 12 months.

Happy New Year, Friends.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air. ~ W. T. Ellis

It Is Just One of Those Days

Well, how do I even begin...today is Wednesday, 16th of December (this is a good start.)

Let me just give a summary why this week is super important to me!

This week is the week before Christmas (and I still have a lot of wrapping and baking to do); it is the end of a week for a number of important milestones for my 3 year old - he will graduate from his swim class tomorrow where he'll be upgraded to the higher level in 2010 and his last day of school on Friday which is he will have his very first performance. (Mind you, my 3 year old has been singing away in the car, so you can tell how much I am looking forward to it.)

And the reality of our morning - my precious woke up late (indicating ANOTHER late day for school....I am embarrassed and hoping you will give up trying to read this fine print) and he's a little sniffy too (I just had a bad feeling). To top it off, I walked in to my dog's house full of *yikes* you know what...So, a whole lot of cleaning and scrubbing, the struggle (every morning routine) to get him dressed for school, getting breakfast ready, packing lunch bag and the list went on..I'll be honest with y'all, I didn't quite handle that gracefully. The quiet and calm household was in a bit of a "crisis" mode at the end of it all - yelling, screaming, elbow grabbing (trying to stop my son from touching the yucky dog), eye-rolling and sighing.

Episodes like this truly put me into perspective after the messes were cleaned, my boy was dressed and fed, my emotion was soothed; and my little precious checking to make sure I am okay and off he goes, singing, "Yes, Jesus Loves Me."

Amen.


My happy Sammy after he was cleaned.

Christmas Message To Our Troops...(updates 12/12/09 It is not too late to GIVE...)

The Christmas Care Packages were shipped on Friday. Thank You again!

While I was at the postal office, I met a lady named Amy (the artist for the cover of Riddles In Time by Tom McCloud). Ms. Amy was there to help sell the autographed book and the proceeds goes to NAM. In the event you have missed our Christmas Care Package for The Troops, it is still not too late to GIVE.

Here's a little about NAM. It stands for Northwest Assistance Ministries, a no-for-profit, community-based, multi-program social service agency. NAM has served the north and northwest Harris County since 1983. For more information and what you can do to help, please visit their website at http://www.namonline.org/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thursday (December 10. 2009)

We are overwhelmed by the response to our Christmas Care Package for our troops. Just thought I would share some of the cards that are to be sent...

(unedited and in no random order)

"Thank you for your service. I hope you come home soon, and safely. Merry Christmas!"

"Thank you for all that you do. Thanks for standing up for our country, I really appreciate it. God Bless you."

"God Bless You for the sacrifice you are making for us over here! We pray for you safety and thank God for the men/women like you! We Love You! Have a Merry Christmas! Be safe and return home under God's Protection!"

"Dear Faithful Soldier, We are praying for you and your safety. We appreciate your service."

"Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your sacrifice and the sacrifice of your family. May God richly bless you for it."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! You are so appreciated for your service and selflessness. We remember you in our prayers each day. The Lord is your strength and your shield, an ever-present help in times of trouble."

"Merry Christmas to out troops."

"Thank you doesn't even cover how much you all are loved and appreciated for keeping us safe and our Freedoms secure!!! God bless all of you!!! With our love and prayers for your safe return home."

"Thank you so much for all that you do! It is greatly appreciated by me and my family. Thanks."

"Dear Troops, Thank you for your service! We love you and send our hearty wishes for a safe and happy Christmas!"

Shopping & Giving

Please check back for more pictures....

From the bottom of my heart, Thank You.

Today I am waking up to the spark of "normalcy" returning to my daily life. It has been such fun and challenging past 4 months - participating in fall festivals and holiday markets, and organizing one myself.

I, thank you, my lovely family for loving me and putting up with me anyway.

I, thank you, my friends for your encouragement, support and never ending love.

I, thank you, my loyal customers for your kind words and for those who coming back to see me again this year.

And most of all, I, Thank the Lord because in Him all things hold together. Colossians 1:17

(especially the beautiful dry sunny day He had reserved for the Gift Market, between a snowy and a rainy ones)

It was truly a remarkable gift market last Saturday (12/5/09) and I am truly blown away by the encouraging response to our Christmas Care Packages for Our Troops.

To our patrons, thank you for visiting and shopping with us. Your donation is greatly appreciated.

To our vendors, thank you for participating and showing your fabulous works.

To our volunteers, Mrs. Christina Lee and Mrs. Rebecca Frazier, we appreciate everything you have done to make our gift market a success.

To our sponsors and donors, Gayle Pechacek (Gary Greene Prudential), Renee Buckhoff (Coldwell Banker United), Kiewit Energy and Costco, thank you for giving us hope to making this possible.

To our event photographer, Kathryn Bancroft, your marvelous talent in helping us capturing the spirit of shopping and giving!

Since I have absolutely no way to wrap up my gratitude post, I am going to leave this with you.

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrew 11.1)

....and God Bless Our Armed Forces

It's Saturday...and if you are reading this...

Come visit us at the Gleannloch Pines Golf Club, do some Christmas shopping and see us in person!

We will be there from 8 am to 3 pm, and don't forget to bring some magazines, books, etc for the troop's care packages!

Best regards and blessings,
Ye Olde Gift Market

It's beginning to look a lot like...

YESTERDAY (before even hearing about all this "potential snow threat") I was posting in my Facebook that the cold that we have had for the last couple of days makes Christmas season feels like Christmas season and I am loving it.

AND TODAY...

Yes, there will be snow in the Deep South.

And Yes, Texas, it's cold and even snow is on its way!

Get ready my friends, how about we make something positive out of this frightful cold front that is coming through?

~ Invite your friends and/or neighbors to come and enjoy a cuppa warm apple cider and emm...break out one or two board game. Or invite them to bring along their favorite's family vacation album to share.

~ Bundle everyone up and have a snowball fight (hey, at least you don't have to fly to expensive ski lodge to see the snow, or may be not?!); or even just take a walk outside.

~ How does some warm soup or hot cocoa sounds after the snowball fight. Or perhaps some snuggle time sounds good to you? Crowd under some warm blankets and watch a family movie!

~ Cleaning. (I suspect this will be the least favorite, and I have not much to explain or suggest. the word itself is pretty self-explanatory)

~ Take a break with a book.

~ Write a letter to a friend. (Sorry, typing a letter, email or Facebooking does not count!)

~ Write your Christmas cards.

All right, my friends, that's about what I can think of at this time. You may have better suggestions to share and feel free to do so.

One last thing to share with y'all..

Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Where this year has gone??

The thought that this is the FINAL month of 2009, then 2010 the next, seems nearly mystical! It has alway fascinated me.

The passing of a year is momentous for those of us with sentimental tendencies and you have less than a month to create and cherish some more wonderful memories of 2009 and stick it in a jar for all time! Treasure it.

I LOVE QUOTES

Friends who know me well, know that I love quotes and even attempted countless times writing my very own (and we will just leave it at that please). Today is a day where I think of Corrie Boom's quotes and this is one of my favorites and I love to share it with you.

Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our path, is the perfect preparation for a future only He can see.

Any concern too small to be turned into a prayer is too small to be made into a burden.

When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don’t throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer.

Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength.

Faith sees the invisible, believes the unbelievable, and receives the impossible.

Discernment is God's call to intercession, never to faultfinding.

Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart.

Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.

The first step on the way to victory is to recognize the enemy.

If God has called you, do not spend time looking over your shoulder to see who is following.

This is the time of the year...

We had 3 perfectly restful days after our courages Thanksgiving 5-mile run on Thanksgiving day. And over the course of the rest of the days, we ate entirely too much scrumptious food, spend too much time shopping and got way too little sleep.

Also, believe it or not, in my mail for the last 4 days...almost 3 inches' worth of shopping catalogs everyday. Makes me feel subscribing to the newspaper is so worth the while!

Bet you have had loads of the Thanksgiving fun, Thanksgiving goodies and Black Friday shopping too. (Love!Love!) it!

Most importantly, are we done shopping yet? Noooooo, of course not!

Make sure you come to our gift market this Saturday (12/5) and shop the wide selections of unique handcraft gifts.

Signing off now, needing some beauty sleep and to go shop for some elastic-waist pants tomorrow!

Gift Market 2009 Details

need a photographer? check out our official photographer's profile and come meet her personally this Saturday (Dec 5) from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm at the Gleannloch Pines Club House

www.KathrynBancroftPhotography.com

updates...

http://www.tonistrendyboutique.com/

Check out these vendors...

www.AmberEveDesigns.com

www.SeaArtisans.com

www.JenniferKirbyDesigns.Etsy.com

www.bkshomedecor.com

check back for more updates...

Happy Thanksgiving

It is always this time of the year that we get reminded the most - Enjoy your families and friends! Laugh hard, talk much, and in the words of William Wordsworth, "rest and be thankful".

Oh, and eat loads of pies!!

Happy Thanksgiving.

Gift Market 2009 Details

Ye Olde Gift Market 2009

Date: Saturday, December 5th, 2009

Time: 8:00 am to 3:00 pm

Venue: Gleannloch Pines Golf Club

19393 Champion Forest Dr.

Spring, TX 77379

Save the date and come join us at the Gleannloch Pines Golf Club for an exclusive holiday shopping experience. The gift market will offer unique items for the entire family, including handcrafted gifts, jewelry and accessories, Alabaster décor, European treasures, apparel, holiday and home decor and so much more!

Additionally, the proceeds from the event will be used to send Christmas packages to our troops who are serving overseas. We will also be accepting the following items (on the day of the event) to be included in the care packages:

Paperback books (mysteries, sci-fi, thrillers), crossword puzzles, word finds or Sudoku.

Magazines (current/maximum the last 3 months) about any type sport, hunting, fishing, golf, soccer, tennis, fitness.

Readers Digest – current or maximum the last 3 months.

A personal card/note from you and your family -thanking them for their service and sacrifice.

For more information, please contact YeOldeGiftMarket@gmail.com