something wonderful is coming.......really...it is!

please email me if you would like to be added

to my mailing list for this

Wonderful Event!

such a beautiful girl

isn't it wonderful when lovely things happen for your friends?

I'm so pleased for my friend, Aleta Breese, who -just recently-

was quite notably and honorably awarded

with not just one

but 2

Toby Awards for her sweet bear,

Princess Mirabell & Sophie

Aleta & I had talked about us making a collaboration piece together. I would make wee doll to be with her beautiful Princess Mirabell ...

and so I made little Sophie-seen here with the illustrious Princess M. herself.

Sophie has had the honor of being her traveling companion to all the best soiree's,

award dinners & tea parties.

Not being educated in the bear maker's world,

I soon learned that earning

a Toby Award is very much akin to receiving an Academy Award

and being recognized as one of the best in your field.

TOBY (Teddy Bear of the Year) awards

are presented by Teddy Bear and Friends magazine.

See more about Aleta and her wonderful teddy bears here:

thesillybear

I have oohed and ahhed at seeing their formal portrait together.

Now, I must say that after having actually met

and held the Famous Princess Mirabell this past Friday that I was not prepared for what an absolutely beautiful bear she is in person.

she is indeed quite breathtakingly-

A most beautiful bear girl.

Her eyes speak volumes and she is dressed in such lovely antique clothing, complete with a tiny pale robin's egg blue purse and a sweet little cream silk parasol.

I was a little sad to have to put her back and wave goodbye to them.

I am so very happy and proud for Aleta

and I'm very honored to have been a small part of

her exciting journey into the Wonderful world of a bear maker's "Hall of Fame".

ps.I must apologize, Aleta, for not including our picture together...I'm afraid that whatever was on my camera lens marred our pictures, so if yours are much better, I look forward to seeing us both on your blog!

something wonderful is coming soon.....

auction for Brianna

~Good Sunday Morning~

The auction for Brianna is now over and what a wonderful success it was! Such a breathtaking response !

$18,441.10

It would not have been possible without all of you,

the lovely bidders, who took the time to come by and support this event,

all of the over 70 wonderful artists who donated their beautiful work for this cause and the ladies who worked tirelessly

to put this together for the benefit of Brianna's legacy and her family.

Colleen Moody

Sylvia Anderson

Kitty Forseth

Stephanie Stargell

Thank you all for your most generous support!

Now I am off to get little Winged Heartes ready for her journey to her new home.

My most sincere and heartfelt thanks to whomever you are.

Christine

Deerfield Farmhouse

Angels for Brianna auction update

Hello Dear Friends,

Just wanted to update all of you on how this wonderful auction is going, we're almost to the finish line &

so far over

$13,560.97 has been raised

for this wonderful benefit!

Isn't that just wonderful?!

I'm so proud and honored to be among these wonderful artist's who have all given so generously of their time and in donating these spectacular pieces of art work.

I hope you will take time today and visit this wonderful auction site and please bid generously.

Angels for Brianna

The auction will end tomorrow,

July 14th at 6:30 pm

PDT

the auction bid email is

AngelsForBrianna@gmail.com

For those of you who may not have seen her-

Here is my angel offering for the auction-

Little Winged Heartes.

Herself is 12" tall and completely hand made with sweet details and is in early 19th c silkes and hand embroidered netted lace.

Little Winged Heartes wears her own set of paper wings

and carries 2 hearts woven together and they,too, are lifted by paper wings.

~~~

thank you all so very much

the twins come calling

just about a month ago, I posted a photo of a new born fawn asleep in the new mint field, we could see his mother and tiny twin not far away.

just this past week, the twin's, now having grown quite alot and feeling quite bold now-

and with momma just out of sight busily eating the grass in the field next to my house,

came strolling into my garden from the poplar grove.

One is quite brave and the smaller is timid.... they are both about as big as a small dog with long long legs.... today they've been eating raspberries and they have found the newly weeded vegetable garden. a perfect reason to not weed.

Angels for Brianna

Dear Friends,

*****an update on the auction that is still going on!****

The website problems have been all taken care of...

also the new email address to use for bidding

on these wonderful hand made pieces of art by world reknowned artist's

is AngelsForBrianna@gmail.com

I am so very honored to be one of the many artists-over 70- that are participating in this auction for

Angels for Brianna.

In honor of this beautiful and courageous young girl who passed from this life on June 15,

I have made a sweet little angel doll called

Winged Heartes.

Although I did not know Brianna nor her family, my heart just went out to them as I read about her and her family as

their story unfolded.

As a mother and grandmother myself and knowing the depth of losing a child,

I felt I must help in anyway I can.

I hope that you will please visit the auction

which began this past Sunday at 10 am and will end this coming Saturday,

July 14 at 6:30 pm

thank you all,

Christine

an old fashioned 4th of July

I wanted to share this old photo of my Grandma Abbie & her Sunday School class,

Celebrating the 4th of July sometime around 1910.

She was just 16-she is the pretty young lady on the far left second one in of the middle row-

she has quite a rocket in hand. Just look at the size of those rockets!

Can you imagine shooting off fireworks like this?!

I hope you all had a wonderful Independence Day Celebration,

we're off to watch our fireworks display in a little while, the sun is almost down,

a perfect ending for such a Glorious Day.

4th of July!

4th of July!

what a glorious morning

to

Celebrate our Country's Independence.

The sun rose early,

shining on our

beautiful

Red White & Blue.

God Bless America

Land that I Love.

Wishing you all a Happy Day in Celebrating

with your family & loved ones!

Long May She Wave!

a mother's prayer for peace

I am not a political person, but I am a praying one.

I am also a mother, a grand-mother, a daughter, a sister, a friend, a wife.

Watching my little grandchildren play across the lawn, our flag held high, it just became even more clear to me

We need prayer for peace.

Not long ago my son and I stood at the grave of his good friend, a boy just like my boy, tall and strong, who grew up here, played here, rode his dirt bike, flying over the hills behind our farm, with my boy and other boys. They raided my refrigerator, the cookie jar, tracking mud in the house, doing all the things that boys will do. They grew up handsome, strong and tall. They all went off to college together and then...Tommy went off to war.

As we stood there together at his grave, the grass still brown, with my son's strong arm tight around me, I could feel him shaking. I was overwhelmed with grateful and thankful prayers for Tommy and all the other men and women that have stood tall and strong and brave for us all and thankful and grateful to God that my son was standing there with me...

and that all Mothers should have their sons and daughters standing with them.

And we do, these boys and girls who give all of themselves for us, fight for us and stand watch for us are all our sons and daughters. Making this country safe for all of us. A safe world for our babies and their babies to come.

I once read that if all the Mothers, grandmothers,wives, sisters and daughters of the men who are at war could all come together that there was nothing that these women could not heal with prayer in just one afternoon.

I hope that you will join with me.

compelling places to visit today

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13442870/site/newsweek/ http://www.homekeepinghearts.blogspot.com/