Birthday Gifts

When someone has a birthday it's normal to give them gifts.

But this year, on his special day,

my beloved Farmer Boy

showered me with gifts:

a day with our DDD (darling daughter dog),

a day filled with beautiful scenes of bay,

and ocean;

sand

and wild, wild surf.

A day

in which I received the gifts of gorgeous pink flowers...

and a yummy gourmet, artisan pizza!

And when the day filled with these gifts and much, much more was over,

and I reminded him he could have had whatever he had wanted for his special day,

I received the best gift of the whole day...

because he told me what he wanted most was to make me happy:)

That is love;

that is my DH.

Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

Blessings forever,

Aimee

Valentine's Day 2012

Years ago,

two hearts met along life's road...

and they fell in love.

Not too long thereafter,

those two hearts became one~

before God, friends and family.

One, but still two.

~

Years passed and those two hearts were blessed with children,

in-laws, grandchildren and extended family.

And then it was Valentine's Day 2012...

A day to celebrate that special love~

the love of two hearts that met along life's road all those years ago

and are still together because of that love now.

Tonight we celebrate with dinner

and a special dessert made (and delivered)

by our oldest son.

We celebrate with flowers, candles and hearts.

We celebrate surrounded by pink, burgandy and white.

Happy Valentine's Day Farmer Boy!

Thank you for your love:)

Love Always, Aimee

~

Menu:

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Balsamic Asparagus

(thank you DDIL)

Baked Heart Shaped Cheese-Garlic-Herb Pizza Crusts

Chocolate Cake with Hazelnuts + Ganache

(thank you son)

Organic Sparkling Apple Cider

Happy Birthday Dear Oregon!

Happy Birthday to the land by the shining sea,

Happy Birthday to a blessed land filled with wildlife,

Happy Birthday to a land filled with rivers, lakes and rushing waterfalls,

Happy Birthday to a land filled with parks and wildlife refuges,

Happy Birthday beautiful Oregon...

I YOU!!

May He who formed you bless you always!

Aimee
~
Photos:
Cannon Beach, Oregon City area, Salem park, cookie from Home Bakery(Astoria)

Happy Valentine's Day

"When one has once fully entered the realm of Love, the world--no matter how imperfect--becomes rich and beautiful, it consists solely of opportunities for Love."

Soren Kierkegaard, Works of Love (1847)

"The most beautiful sight this earth affords is a man or woman so filled with love that duty is only a name, and its performance the natural outflow and expression of the love which has become the central principle of their life."
Josiah Gilbert Holland, reported in Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert, Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895), pg 394
-
"Love feels no burden, regards not labors, strives toward more than it attains, argues not of impossibility, since it believes that it may and can do all things."
Thomas A Kempis, German monk & mystic, The Imitation of Christ, pt 3, ch 6 (1471)
-
"They do not love that do not show their love."
William Shakespeare, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Act I, Scene 1
-
"Love comforted like sunshine after rain."
William Shakespeare, Venus and Adonis
-
"An ounce of love is worth a pound of knowledge."
John Wesley, The Works of Rev John Wesley (1830)
-
----and last, but certainly not least, these verses found in the Holy Bible
-
“Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
Matthew 22:36-40 KJV
-
"Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged. It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Love will last forever”
I Corinthians 13: 4-8a KJV
-
Blessings, Aimee
-
Note:

Quotes are from the following webpage, http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Love. Text, on this post only, available under CC-BY-SA. If you wish to use the text please see the following links for legal terms of use: http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Terms_of_Usehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Photo:

Heirloom Roses, near St Paul, OR

Something's Changed

Since this weekend I am seeing the world in a new,

somewhat challenging but definitely exciting way.

Actually the change began many weeks ago when yours truly left her DH alone and in our car,

with the camera,

for a few minutes while she was on a mission of mercy for her sibling.

~
It wasn't long but when I came back there was a change.
~

By the way, have I told you my Farmer Boy does not like to be bored?

That he thrives on knowing how things are put together?

That these admirable qualities often mean he loves to take things apart

and then put them back together again?

All without the help of instructions...

~

It's true...

But all and all,

once I recovered from my shock

at seeing the CHANGE...

I realized

someone in our family KNOWS how to change lenses on my camera!

~

So, at times, you will see here

that the ZOOM is IN.

And it is my hope you will like the change...

but if you don't...
blame this guy

My sweet, totally gifted, wonderful and very charming

Farmer BOY!

Thanks honey for being you :)

Blessings,

Aimee

Photos:

Park along the Willamette River

Willamette Falls