Christmas Blessings

A small tree with my children's ornaments. They each have one for each Christmas. There is also one Ayla made in school. There are some that they won as prizes in Sunday school for answering questions about the Nativity and Jesus. This tree reminds me of the little blessings in my life. My children are healthy and growing. Ayla is doing very well in school. They both love Sunday school and learning about their Savior. It fills my heart with joy!

I decorated in a country Christmas theme this year. Simple and understated. I used some ornaments and decorations from when I was a child. It reminded me of the years my mom struggled to make sure my sister and I have a wonderful Christmas. Somehow, she always managed to make it wonderful. I'm reminded of snow and Christmas Eve on my grandparents farm. My Grandfather would go outside and ring bells on the porch, leaving gifts outside the sliding glass doors of their living room. Then, as the kids ran for the door and brought the gifts inside, he would slip back in and stand at the living room entry to watch. I remember clam chowder, smoked salmon, and ham rolls. I remember Christmas dinners with the family gathered around, talking and laughing. I remember Grandpa going to the china cabinet to pull out his jar of salt water taffy so each of us kids could have a piece.



This Christmas, as for the last five, we have been in Georgia. We have celebrated with Bryan's family and our friends. We have been awed by the glory and grace of our Lord. I know my grandparents are celebrating together, in Heaven. Their grandkids have grown and had children of their own. While I cherish the memories of my childhood, I am busy making new memories with my children, who are growing up so fast.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas. I pray that the year to come brings Blessings to you all.

With Love, Jessica and the Hembree Family

The View from my Desk...

To my left, about 7 feet from where my desk chair sits, is this window.

Outside this window, I can see evidence of one of my favorite times of year.


The leaves are orange, red, brown, yellow, and gold. Some have 'floated' to the ground already. Here and there, little evergreens stand ready for Christmas time...



The air is chilled. The colors are rich. The emotions stirred are varied...

I am reminded that this is the death of summer. The plants and animals are disappearing. It's getting cold. I'm reminded of the hardships we've faced and the loved ones who are no longer with us...

But I also know it is the holiday season. Time for Thanksgiving and appreciating what we have been blessed with. It is a time to gather with friends and family and celebrate the love we share. It is a time of food, gifts, love, and bounty. Christmas is coming and it brings a reminder that, although it is cold and the world is dying, Christ is with us. Just as he rose, the world will renew itself in time...

We celebrate giving, thanks, love, kindness, sharing with those who are less fortunate than us, counting our blessings and blessing those around us, spending time with our loved ones, and remembering that God loved us so much he gave us his Son.

To all my friends and family, the ones who read this blog as a way to know what is going on here in Georgia with the Hembree family...
I love you! I miss you! May God bless you this Holiday Season!

The Super Special Someone Contest at Home2Home

I would love it if you could take a moment and visit this page.

Think of someone special. Someone who could use a little holiday cheer. Then, write a little bit about them and submit it for entry.

It can be a family member, friend, neighbor, coworker, or anybody else you can think of!!! Spread a little love and submit someone special...

Thanks!!!

Life has taken over...

Okay, so I'm not going to worry about special fonts, cute quotes, or pictures (although there are many)... I'm just going to share what life has been like for the past few months...

There are a lot of family and friends who have birthdays in June. It is always crazy busy for us. Even more so, since Ayla's birthday is June 10th.

She just finished her first year of school (Pre-k) and she was turning 5. I wanted to make a big deal out of it, so we did. You can read about it here, here, and here.

Around this time, I started feeling kinda rough...

Then July comes, with the 4th and Zach's party (here and here).

This whole time, my grandmother is battling cancer... And I'm still sick... and life keeps chugging along with work and school and everything...

Near the middle of July, we said goodbye to my grandma. Then, we went ahead with Zach's party...

Then Ayla went back to school. And then, this happened. Bryan's dad came to visit us. Then, Bryan and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary.

Bryan also got a promotion. His car broke down, so we share one vehicle. I reorganized my business. I am still working on my bachelors degree. Zach potty trained! And sooooo much more...

So that's how our summer has been. Now that the leaves are changing and the air is cooling, I hope autumn is a little less chaotic....

My Little Army Man

Alright, so life has taken over our house... I know Zach's birthday was almost 2 months ago... I know I haven't posted pictures... but I'll explain that later.

For now, we enter the combat zone.

I found a lot of army style party decorations and used them as a starting point. I took some pictures of the birthday boy and displayed them on the table along with little army men and print outs of the Army Seal.



Instead of packing up favors, I set up a goody table. I had some small toys, stickers, and candy. I made this little sign to sit on the table...



I included some special survival goodies...



For his cake, I made a fudge marble cake. With the yellow half of the batter, I added food coloring to make it green and then swirled it together with the brown. When we cut into the cake, the inside was camo!

For the top, I frosted it with fudge frosting and then decorated it with chocolate pieces. I made the pieces by hand-piping chocolate onto wax paper that was laid over a print out of the logo.


He had a lot of fun! Thank you to everyone who was able to celebrate with us!

I am trusting in the Lord...

In the past few days I have been showered with love and prayers from my amazing friends and family.

For those who are unaware of what has been going on, I'll let you know...

Since February/March, Bryan and I have been trying to have another baby. We expected it to take a while, since it took about 7 months for us to have Zach.

Near the middle of June I started having some health problems. I was nauseous, having headaches, and feeling weak and tired. We thought I might be pregnant! But then some other health problems came up... I took a home pregnancy test and it was negative. I kept having the same health problems though. So I called my doctor and scheduled an appointment. I was sleeping 12-13 hours a day, weak, sick, and gaining weight. Near the end of July, when a certain 'gift from nature' did not arrive, I took another test. It was positive! We wanted to wait until after my appointment to tell everyone.

I had my appointment Friday, August 6. They confirmed that I was pregnant. We told our family and friends that weekend. However, I still was not feeling well and I felt I was further along than they first told me. They scheduled another appointment for Wednesday the 11th.

The afternoon of the 10th, I started having some problems... The nurse told me that as long as I was not having any pain, I should wait for my appointment. By the time of my appointment things had gotten worse. I was not having any pains, but we were very concerned. My doctor told me I was almost 10 weeks along (So I had been pregnant in June!), but she was concerned about my problems. She asked if we could come back that afternoon for an ultrasound and bloodtest. We scheduled the appointment and went home crying.

If they found a heartbeat, I would have to be on bedrest. We only have one car right now and Bryan works 45 minutes from where we live. Plus Ayla is in school now and Zach is still at home. I'm not the type of person who likes not being busy. I have to be doing something and keeping busy. The idea of bedrest was not going over well... I just could not think of how it would work...

If they didn't find a heartbeat though... I mean... how do you cope with the idea that there might or might not be a 10 week old inside of you that might or might not be dying? I spent most of the day crying... It was the fact that we did not know that was most upsetting...

At my ultrasound that afternoon they confirmed. I had already lost the baby.

While we were upset over the loss, we were also relieved. We want to have another baby, but we also want to be able to take care of the two children we have. The doctor told me that after my body returns to it's normal self (well, as normal as I can be) we can continue trying.

I have been touched by all the concern and love from our family and friends. I have also been surprised to learn just how many women I know have been through the same thing. Unfortunately, there have been a few people who do not understand how calm and 'okay' I am with what has happened. Let me explain...

I want a baby, ALOT. But I have been blessed with two children already, and my priority right now is to take care of the family I have. I trust in the will of my Lord. Whatever reason He has for allowing us to go through this, I know it is for the best of those involved. This is how I see it... The Lord saw that somewhere down the line, something would go wrong. Maybe we would lose the baby after it was born, or maybe something would happen to me during the pregnancy or delivery... Either way, The Lord saw that there would be a problem. Instead of putting us through that tragedy, He decided to take care of the baby in Heaven. Now both of us are safe.

I know the Lord will heal my body and our hearts. We will try again, and if the Lord blesses us, we will have another baby. If it is not the will of the Lord, I know He will provide comfort.

My trust is in my Lord. He has never left me and He never will. He has given me peace in knowing we are all safe...

He has also blessed me with amazing family and friends who have been supportive, kind, and sharing during this time. It helps to know that many of my friends/family have been through this before... And God has touched them, just as He has touched me...

So I assure you... despite everything... I know it happened for a reason. I am alright.

I love you all and thank you for your support. May God bless each of you!

Another Angel...

Yesterday, July 18th, 2010, my grandmother MaryLou Tackes passed from this world...

For the last few months she had been in and out of the hospital battling lung cancer, emphysema, and diabetes... She had been in pain and for the last month was confined to a hospital bed. Her heart longed to be with her husband, my grandfather Kern, who we lost a few years ago...

Now, I know she is pain free. I know she is up walking around. And most of all, I know she is with my Grandfather once again. I find comfort in the fact that I will see both of them someday. I can smile and cry tears of joy over the memories I have of the two of them. I can look at family pictures, show them to my children, and tell them about their wonderful great-grandparents.

One day, I will see them again... Just as they are in these photos... and that thought means the world to me...

Grandpa: I still miss you, after all this time. I can see you out in the chicken house, working in your workshop... I see salt water taffy, and think of you...I can hear you joke around singing songs and trying to teach us your special German words like 'fartfenugen'... I can hear you jingle bells out on the porch of the farmhouse, pretending to be Santa for us as kids... I remember picking raspberries from your garden... I remember the last time I saw you, in Yuma when I moved to Georgia and we stopped to visit you... You were a wonderful man. The one real example I had growing up. I love you and I look forward to hugging you again someday...

Grandma: I know how much the last few months have hurt you. I know how much you longed to be with the man you loved for over fifty years... I can remember sitting in your living room, watching you do crosswords... I am reminded of you every time I see smoked salmon... I can remember playing dominoes with the family around your kitchen table... I remember you taking Ayla into your bedroom at 5am that morning in Yuma, just so Bryan and I could sleep a little more... I love you, I miss you...
My grandfather, Clarence "Kern" Tackes

My Grandmother, MaryLou Tackes

My Little Man is Turning 3

Zach's birthday is coming up in a few weeks (sniffle...sniffle... my baby is growing up too fast).

He decided months ago that he wanted to have an Army Man birthday party this year. I bought some decorations and came up with TONS of ideas. But of course, before the party starts, you have to invite people to celebrate with you.

I love coming up with unique invitation ideas (as you saw with Ayla's party). For Zach's party, I decided to draft the guests...

I used our computer's word program. I found a U.S. Army star logo online and put in in the center of the page at the top. Then the invitation read :

*Official Recruitment Notice*
You are hereby ordered for induction into the United States Army Special Forces Unit. MISSION: Rendezvous with an elite force of young people to celebrate Zachary's 3rd Birthday. Should you choose to accept this mission... REPORT TO TRAINING CAMP: (the date of the party) LOCATION: Fort Eagle Training Academy (the address of the party) ARRIVAL TIME: (time the party starts) COMPLETION TIME: (the time the kids should be picked up) Rations will be served. UNIFORM: Camouflage or green/tan/brown clothing optional. Recruits will run basic training drills. They will be crawling on grass and using water grenades during their missions. Please make sure they dress appropriately. Please bring a towel or change of clothes. CONFIRM: Drill Sergeant (Last name) (phone number) (and date of RSVP)
Then I printed the invitations on regular printer paper and folded the sheets into thirds so that the top only showed the logo and the words *Official Recruitment Notice*.

Then in the top right corner I hand wrote the invitees last name. You could easily add your own touch. The name of the training academy could be the child's name or the family last name. You could also use the Army seal instead of the star logo. They would be really cute with an army camo border too! If you wanted to, you could take the invite, place it in a manila envelope, and write this on the outside:

TOP SECRET: Special United States Army Documents ATTN: (Invitees name)

Enjoy!!! :)

Happy Fourth!!!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and a fabulous Fourth of July...

We did...

Just look for yourself... :)

I know I haven't posted since Ayla's party last month, but I'll tell you all about what I've been up to soon. I am decorating for a 'coming home party' (Details coming soon...). I am also working on Zach's 3rd birthday. He picked an Army Man theme. It is coming along great! I'll be posting on it soon also...

A few reasons I have been slacking about posting...

I have been busy making party decorations. I have also been having some health issues (Will tell you about this later also...). Of course, I still have online classes, two kids, a hubby, and a house to take care of... I have also been prayerful for my mother and her family.

My Mom's Mom (Grandma MaryLou, to me), has been very sick for the past few months. In June, we found out she has advanced (terminal) lung cancer in addition to several other health problems. After a lot of procedures and worry, Grandma has settled into hospice. It won't be much longer before she gets to see my Grandpa again... I know I will see them both someday, but it is very difficult for my Mom. I would appreciate your prayers for her and the rest of the family.

Also, for those of you who know Sister Doris Garrison... She is a wonderful woman who is like a Grandma to my hubby (And to me now!). She teaches the Sunday school class for young children at our church. It is the same class that I teach, I sub for her when she is out. She was out for the past two months due to surgery. She came back to class on Father's Day. Then last week, while she was at work on Monday, she was hospitalized again. She had a heart attack. They did a stent and got it taken care of. She will be out for a few more weeks. Please keep her in your prayers as well! We love her so much and we will be glad when she is able to come back and stay with us again.

Anyhow... I guess that is enough for now... I know I have a lot more to share, but it will have to wait. Thank you for your prayers! We appreciate it! :)

Princess Tea Party!

My Little Princess is now 5 Years old...

It seems like just yesterday when we had this picture taken... and now she is a 5 year old... sniff...
Okay, I think I am done crying... maybe... The little Princess had so much fun at her tea party. I just wanted to share some of the decorations and food with you... since you couldn't make it. :)

I just love these tissue paper pom-poms. I made four of them for the party. I also made the adorable banner in the background.

Princess pink poms and strings of precious pearls... How Perfect!

We had a Tea Party Buffet set up on our breakfast bar. We had tea sandwiches, fruit, crackers, and plenty of sweets. I made meringues, buttermints, and sparkle marshmallows (which are kind of like Peeps). I also had strawberry marshmallows, lemon shortbread, and chocolate covered sunflower seeds. And don't forget the cake!!!

I used scrapbook paper to make labels for each food item. The butterflies went well with the Princess tablecloth I had bought, since it had small butterflies in the middle of it.

Of course, The birthday girl wanted strawberry cupcakes. So, I used glass sundae dishes to bake them in. They turned out so sweet!

Check out my previous post for links on how to make some of the decorations. If you would like to see more pictures of the party, you can visit me on Facebook. I also want to thank everyone who came to the party and helped make it special.

Ayla had so much fun!

Ayla's Princess Tea Party Decorations

For the past few months, I have been following an amazing blogger.

She shares the most wonderful discoveries! I have to admit, I am awed! Perhaps that is why, when I started looking for ideas to decorate for Ayla's Princess Tea Party Hoopla (yes, it has become a little bit of a hoopla, but HEY she's turning 5!!!)... where was I?

OH YEAH! So, I started looking for decoration ideas. One of my first stops was this woman and her wonderful blog. Disney at Ruffles And Stuff. OH MY! Did I mention how much I love Disney and her blog? I did. Oh Well!

Last month, Disney had a GORGEOUS birthday party for her little sweetheart, Paige. You can check it out here. WOW, huh?

Well, I just loved the PomPoms, paper circles, banner, ruffles and all... So I decided to borrow from Disney. For Ayla's party, I made two banners of my own (a little different from Disney's). I also made a couple paper circles. You can directions on how to make them by visiting this site, that featured Disney's party. I also made several tissue PomPoms.

I got my PomPom directions from another blog I follow. I have a hunger to find amazing and wonderful craft projects. Enter Rachel over at One Pretty Thing. She had a link to these Poms.

I also decided to tie tulle around the kitchen chairs, curl some random bits of ribbon, and put up pictures of the birthday girl. And I will wait to post about the food later... drooooooool.....

I will post completed pics once we have the party next week, but here are a few teasers...

Princess Tea Party - Scroll invitations

Alright, So I hate to admit it... but, sniff... my little princess is turning 5!

This year, she decided that she wanted to have a tea party. Of course, nothing she does is simple, so we have to have a Princess Tea Party.

Since we have a theme, the next step is the invitation. I decided to make little scrolls with the invitation information.

First, I selected the wording. My invitation reads like this:

Your presence is requested at a royal princess tea party. To celebrate the birthday of your friend Princess (Name). Please arrive at the castle by (Time) on (date). The festivities should conclude around (time). The royal tea party will include tea, snacks, and cake. We would be honored if you would wear your princess dresses or pretty tea party clothes. We'll count our teacups one by one, so do let us know if you'll join the fun. (phone number). Castle (name) is located at (address).

I centered it on an 8.5 by 11 page and use a script font.

Then, to get a rough edge, I placed a ruler on the page. I placed the outside edge of the ruler about 1cm from the furthest edge of my text...

Then, I gently pulled down the edge of the page. I wanted an uneven edge, so I tore unevenly, in and out...

It should look a little like this...

Repeat this process on the other long side. You could also do the top and bottom, but I left mine straight.

Now, it's time to age the paper so it looks like an antique scroll. Seep a black tea bag for a minute, then gently squeeze most of the water out. Gently rub the tea bag on the torn edge of the paper. It will darken a little as it dries, so a little goes a long way. It helps to place the tea bag back in the water occasionally, so keep it handy.

Once the paper dries, it will have a light color to it. It will also curl a little because of the moisture.

Make sure the paper is dry, then roll it tightly. I rolled from the bottom up, so that the text would be read in order.

Once you are done, it will look like this.

I cut gold shimmer organza ribbon into 12 inch lengths. Then, tie a ribbon around each invitation.

Tada!!! It's simple, but it really conveys the Princess Tea Party theme. You could easily use different colors of ink, paper, or ribbon. Get creative! These would work well with a Knight themed party or a fairytale theme.