Remembering The Last Mother's Day with Mom~

Happy Mother's Day

For me,Mother's  Day is special, not only because my family blesses me with their thoughtfulness, but because remembering my mother is a gift that I can reopen each year. A treasured gift that lives in the depths of my heart.

This story begins on a gorgeous Mother's Day in the year 2000. The day was warm and sunny accompanied by plans for a special dinner for my mother in our home.

You see, after my father passed away in 1998, I brought my mother from Michigan to live with me in my home in Texas. God brought my family 2 years earlier to this very home that would have a room just for my mom. A home where just outside our subdivision and across the road, was a care facility. Little did we know at the time, there would be a need for that care. But God knew and was preparing us for what lay ahead.

At that point, mother settled in with me and my family and life continued by the grace of God. However, little by little my mother's health was failing. She had medical issues and needs that I could no longer meet. I tried, I really tried. I cried and  cried for the strength and courage to continue, but that was not going to be the plan. Now the help of the care facility was needed. So close by and so easy to visit every day. What a blessing it was.

Mom once again settled into her new home. I decorated her pretty space, with all her treasures to give her comfort and feel like home. Not a word of complaint was ever spoken from her lips, not a discouraged attitude was ever reflected in her pretty face. She was showing us the grace and dignity of a life in its final days. It had to be difficult for her making this huge change. The grand lady who worked and retired from the Veteran’s Administration Hospital, was also a homemaker, gardener, decorator, crafter, cook, wife, mother, church faithful and friend to all.

As time went by, my family and I spent every day visiting my mother. Mornings, afternoons and evenings we all stopped in to spend time with mom. I planned special events, picnics outside mom's room, sing a long times, birthday parties and so forth. It was a time to soak up so much to learn about life and the fragility of our days on earth. Mom still had so much to tell me and show me. She was an angel on earth and her work here not yet complete.

By now the first Mother’s Day after mom’s move was approaching. Mom was doing well enough to come home for the day to enjoy dinner and spend time with the family. We all were looking forward to the outing mom would take to be with us. I cooked and cleaned to make everything just right. I prayed for our day to be as special as could be, and it was.

I can still see mom as my husband brought her home for the day visit. He wheeled her up the walkway in her wheelchair and my heart beat quicker with the excitement to entertain my mother. She was dressed in a pretty lavender suit. The color was gorgeous against her pretty silver hair. A little blush on her cheeks brought out those gorgeous brown eyes that danced and glistened like the pearls around her neck. It was easy to see how happy she was to be in our home for Mother’s Day.

Dinner was wonderful as we all talked and laughed sharing family memories. I played the piano for mom and we sang her favorite hymns. We went outside on the patio to enjoy the sunshine of this perfect day continuing the laughter and family stories.

As the day came to an end, I cleared the dining room table and cleaned the kitchen as mom sat by talking and laughing just like many times before. What a gift when I look back. How fast time marches on as life moves us forward.

When it was time to take mom back, we all rode along to settle her in her pretty room for the night. We gathered to say a prayer as we always did in parting, knowing we had been blessed once again with a memory that would last us forever. Mom passed away just 3 and half months later. Just 14 weeks from that special Mother’s Day and last dinner. The last time she would ever be in my home. The last time I would see her in that gorgeous lavender suit, hear her voice at the dinner table and see her generous smile.  With fragile hands, mom stroked my hair as we said goodbye. Thanked me for a lovely dinner and special day. I can still see her hand wave as we walked out of her pretty room. “See you tomorrow, we all said.”  Tomorrow's did come and go in those weeks before mom took her final move to heaven. Looking back  on those days were the best of my life.  Times in which I learned so much from my mother.  The one who always had a smile on her face and kind word for all.  Generous to a fault and a giver of time.   Encourager and cheerleader to everyone.
Learning's that will never have a last time!

This Mother’s Day will once again give me the moments to look into my heart and reopen that gift from the past.  It will be a time to be thankful for the dear mother I was blessed with and the mom I hope and pray I can be, set by her example.

Mom used to say to cherish the moments, take time to be kind and in all ways ask God to direct our path. Insightful words from a wise lady.  I hope your days are special and blessed by gifted moments shared with family, friends and Mothers.      (c)Celestina Marie

Many Blessings Always.

Your Friend,

Celestina Marie

New Year, New Fresh Looks for Style at Home

Each year after the holidays,

I love to change up and freshen each room.

Once the Christmas decor is put away,

I can't help but do a furniture shuffle, 

or change out the accents and colors.

And,

this doesn't have to cost a lot to do.

I simply move accents and furniture around from one room to another.

Many times, it works great and with  better results.

The treasures and furniture we love, don't have to stay where they first began

in decorating our home.

Last week

 I worked on moving a few chairs around.

Now usually this has to have some assistance from my strong family members,

especially when the chairs I was moving around, 

were on different levels of the house.

All was accomplished and I am a happy decorator!!

Thank you to hubby and son!

These two chairs below now have new rooms 

and

they look so much better in their new footprints.

I'll share more about these new rooms 

in another post.

Because today the  ideas I had~

 were to bring down the red decor from second floor guest room.

to the master bedroom.

I have always had a red room or two somewhere in our  homes

and 

this year I thought I would enjoy the red in the master

and living room.

To begin I had some of this gorgeous vintage

Norfolk Fabric found on etsy.

I got it knowing several months ago I was going to make some changes.

I also had two tab top long curtain panels 

from the quest room given to me about 10 years ago

from a dear friend.

Knowing these would not work in the master as they were,

I went to work turning them into upcycled valances 

for the bedroom sitting area.

I measured, cut, pinned and fashioned enough for 5 window valances

and enough left over for table topper and pillow.

Still have the better part of the last panel for pillow shams

if I want.

Love the results and the fresh new look.

You may think that skirted tables are 

not in fashion any longer,

and you may be right~

but I also swapped out another wood table for this round accent table.

I say, if it works and looks good

with new or vintage fabric, then it's perfect

and

helps to pull the color and look into the room.

Next I found these gorgeous lumbar pillows from

Biltmore For Your Home

and they

work perfect in my two wicker chairs for the sitting area.

The red throw was one I crocheted over 

the summer to use at Christmas

and now it works great here.

Next from the swap out,

I added this red "Rush Seat" chair

with matching cushion for the master desk.

Moving around the room,

here are a few added accents I pulled from other rooms.

My hand painted roses in beautiful red on canvas.

Love this red Eiffel Tower.

More hand painted red roses on a vintage plate.

These vintage wall birds were my mother and dad's from

their first home in the 40's.

A little clock collection

set to special times of our lives.

Weddings, births, and so on.

Lastly here's a little pillow

sewn up from some of the fabric left.

Loving the new fresh look 

with the swap from room to room.

I kept the quilts but changed out the drapes

for that difficult window over the bed.

You know the one, 

if you've followed me for long.

It's always a trouble child to work with.

Love these lined sheers however.

Their light and airy and drape so nicely behind the head board.

and

Like I said,

I do have enough fabric to fashion up some pillow shams too.

Okay, project number one crossed off the list.

Love this time of year

and

get so motivated to change rooms up.

Next I'll share another bedroom and living area.

Do you do these types of change ups?

Isn't it fun and refreshing?

The best part,

it doesn't have to cost a fortune to get a new look.

Thanks for stopping by.

Have a great day!

Celeste

xo

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Special Memory

When I was a little girl,

 I used to admire a gorgeous treasure when we would visit my dear grandmother, who I always called Nana.

In her kitchen, she had a lovely hutch that stood so grand in the corner of the room. 

It was not a large hutch, for her kitchen was small and cozy, but it was grand in the eyes of myself, the child who loved pretty things even then.

Through the glass doors I always admired her pretty gold tea pot, sugar and creamer and 6 demi cups and saucers. I thought it was magnificent. Nana told me it was from Italy and a gift brought back to her from a dear friend when visiting her home town of Naples. I knew it was very special to her in just the way she spoke of the treasure. 

Nana only used the set for special occasions when company would visit.  I remember a time when she had a gathering of her special friends and my mother and I were included. The ladies enjoyed an espresso coffee from the demi cups and of course I was given juice. oh well too young~~~ but I thought I was so important to sit with the ladies while they talked in a mix of Italian and English.

As the years went forth, the treasured set remained secure and beautiful behind the glass doors of the small grand hutch that stood so proud in Nana's kitchen. As I grew older, I continued to admire the set and the special spot in Nana's heart that it would fill. The treasure that came from her home town of Naples, Italy. The town she would never visit again while on this earth. I used to feel sad about that, thinking that my dearest grandmother would never go home again to visit. Back then, it was a world away, expensive to travel and a very long trip by ship when she first came to America. When talking about this to her, she told me, that although she missed her homeland, her home was where her family was now and that was all that was important. That God had blessed her coming to America, and for this, she would always be grateful.

Earlier in August, my dear best guy and I celebrated our 42nd wedding anniversary. My how the years have flown by. Remembering back to that special time just before the wedding, I visited my Nana often to talk and share my dreams of our wedding and plans of a world to come. 

On one visit before the wedding, I walked over to the hutch like I had always done my whole life up to that point and I quickly noticed the treasured gold set with the darling demi cups were missing. "Nana", I said, "Where is the set from Italy?" She motioned for me to follow her into the living room. 

As we sat on the pretty light green brocade sofa, she handed me a wrapped box to open. I looked at her puzzled, but proceeded to open the package to find the gorgeous treasured set from Italy inside.

As I began to cry and tell her, no Nana, this is yours and I could never take it. She held my hand and whispered it is for you and will be in your care from this point on. I was so excited, promising I would always take good care of it and cherish it forever. She said, she knew, I would take good care of the set because she watched over the years how I had always admired the delicate beauty of gold. 

Yes, I had admired the beautiful set and never imagined it would someday be mine to cherish. I never would have imagined the many years of looking through the hutch with admiration, that I was gazing at a wedding gift. Nana gave me a part of her heart that day and it was in her plan to do so. 

Today we calculate this beautiful set to be about 85 years old.

 It means as much to me today as it did when I first admired the delicate treasure as a little girl. 

Left in my care so long ago and a blessing I hold dear.

Not only for the beauty of the pretty set but the precious lady who gave it so generously 42 years ago.

Nana's name was Celestina Marie

and I was named after her.

She was a Godly women and a great teacher.

I hope my blog honors her memory and the blessing she was in my life.

Thank you for stopping by 

and 

sharing in my precious memory.

Be Blessed my friends.

Celestina Marie
Happy September!!

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Fathers and Faithful Followers

Happy Father's Day and all good wishes for a special day blessed with time to enjoy, relax and reflect. 

This day has me missing my own dear Father,

 but I know he is safe in the arms of our Lord and I can forever hold close his wonderful memory.

God blessed me, not only with a dear devoted dad, but a wonderful beloved husband, 

who is an excellent father as well.

 To this day, I gives thanks to the two hero's in my life.

 First my Father and then my own Best Guy!!

Best Friends my dad and I, right from the start.

Sharing a laugh and fun times.

Our Christmas holiday tradition to visit Santa together.

Always working on a project for our home.

Retiring after 33 years with the Ford Motor Company.

Teaching his grandson, my son, how to do wood working.

Just as My Best Guy has always worked and built our life and home.

Sacrificing to go back to college while working, raising our family and graduating with two degrees.

And a proud and faithful Father when our son graduated from college.

Just as my dad was so proud of him and the wonderful way he has always taken care of our family.

Showing him, his son in law, 

his Fatherly care, knowing his dad passed away when he was only 15.

While my dad  would not begin to try and replace his father, he filled an emptiness in his heart.

Below is my hubby on the left and my father on the right.

With all made possible by the grace of God and HIS faithful direction. 

Two wonderful men blessed from above to be Fathers and Faithful Followers of God.

The above picture is December 1997, 

our last picture together with my dad.

He would pass away 10 months later, my dear mother lived only 22 months longer.

 Life changed completely from that point on, 

but the love and learning's will stay with us forever, 

as we are so thankful for the memories that sustain us, till we all meet again.

Happy Father's Day to the great men in my life and to the greats in yours.

Blessings and Blue Skies Be Yours

Love,

Celestina Marie