Love, Hope and Happiness

A few days ago while we were driving around for Rochelle and the twins' doctor's apointments, we stopped by an Italian bakery called Paesano's. It's too much hassle to take down the twins so I left Rochelle with them in the car and went in the bakery by myself.

I was thinking of having tea after AJ comes home from school. I brought this tea set from my booth in Natchez when I came here last Thanksgiving.

 This is what I came out with from the bakery, a tiramisu, red velvet cake, carrot cake, cherry topped cheesecake, cannolis, brownie cheesecake and an almond pig in a blanket pastry. There were so much goodies in there! I couldn't fit everything under the cake dome so I left out the red velvet and carrot cakes. I think these sweets are more than enough for us 3 for now, lol.

After we got home, we walked with the twins to meet AJ at the bus stop.

Then, I made some raspberry/cranberry tea and prepared the table for us to have an afternoon tea.

 There's AJ pouring her tea.

 And here is Rochelle! We had a relaxing afternoon eating, talking and bonding.

 And that was made possible because the twins weren't being fussy. Thanks Rea and Halle, for being so good and giving us a break!

Can you see them holding hands again?

Thank you for stopping by and thank you to all our hosts below for all these fun memes. I hope you get to visit them cause you will be in for some nice treats.

Tuit Tuesday at http://ahappyvalentine.blogspot.com/

Marty's Tabletop Tuesday at http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/
Sandi's Teatime Tuesday at http://sandimyyellowdoor.blogspot.com/
Kathy's Victoria: A Return to Loveliness at http://blissfulrhythm.blogspot.com/

Martha's Teacup Tues at http://www.marthasfavorites.com/

Lady Katherine's Teatime Tuesday at http://ladykatherineteaparlor.blogspot.com/

Best Christmas Presents in the Pink

Rochelle and Derek did not take their Christmas tree down right away.Even though the twins were born on Jan.10th, they wanted to take their pictures by the tree. And so after all the excitement and hecticness of their birth mellowed down a bit, we finally took pictures.

My youngest daughter, Tina also had a baby girl on Dec. 26. She and the twins are my best Christmas presents ever!

Here are the twins, Halle and Rea.

Here is the picture of Halle that I took for their birth anouncement.

And this is Rea's.

It seems like Halle is whispering something to Rea in the photo below and Rea says "Hmm, let me think about it".

This is Reese, my granddaughter who was born the day after Christmas.

I took a lot of pictures of her so I can pick for my Valentine party post but my model got so tired and sleepy after posing so much, lol.

I love that big red bow!

I hope you don't get tired of seeing my new grandbabies. I cannot get enough of them. I have to take advantage of taking lots of pictures while I am still here. After I leave, months will pass before I see them again and they will be much bigger. You know how fast babies grow!

Thanks for stopping by. I am forever grateful to our hosstesses below. I hope you get to visit them and their other participants too.

Honey's Potpourri Friday at http://twenty-eight-0-five.blogspot.com/

Beverly's Pink Sat at http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/

CJ's R & R Weekend Party at http://inandoutmynest.blogspot.com/

Mary's Mosaic Monday at http://dearlittleredhouse.blogspot.com/
Sarah's Weekend Homemaking Link Up party at http://bloggingwhilewaiting.blogspot.com/

Happy Birthday, Natasha!

Last Saturday, I decided to go to Homegoods since Tina's hubby was home for the weekend from the seminar so he can help watch the kids. I was also starting to know my way around plus, I had my vehicle with me which I drove from Rochelle's house. John and I have left a vehicle here so that we would always have something to use when we are in town. I bought a few home stuff, which if you know me, I have a hard time resisting,

It's a good thing I bought some table items because Tina was preparing for a dinner party to celebrate Natasha's birthday, and everytime I asked her if she has this or that, she always answers "No", lol! I guess she did not take after her mother's obsession.

You probably have read me talk about Tina and Scott's German neighbors, Chris, Natasha and their cute son, Jan. They have gotten so close to each other even though they are only in this country for part of the year. It was so nice to witness their closeness because it gives me peace of mind knowing that they are looking after each other. Natasha is always so nice coming over almost every night, just to help hold the baby and Chris is always taking care of the boys.

Anyway, it was Natasha's birthday on Friday and Tina decided to cook dinner for them and invited another family, Jen and Scott and their 2 adorable kids, to join us.

I was itching to do a tablescape and luckily I had what I could use in my shopping bag.  

And so I created this yet another simple red and white table. 

I bought the red tablecloth with 10 matching napkins included, for $14.00. I already have a red tablecloth at home but I do not have one this long and I thought that price was pretty good considering that it included 10 napkins.

A simple table for 7 with not even a placemat or a plate charger.

I bought the vase with faux gerber daisies from Homegoods also.

And you probably remember my little orchid plant that I bought from the farmer's market a few weeks ago. It's growing very nicely.

This is a kid friendly tablescape. See the 2 boys playing in the background?

Chris is always happy, always joking around, here trying to make fun of Tina's height.

And you will see the guests of honor below.

When it was time for Natasha to blow her birthday cake candles, we had to light them up again because Nathan beat her to it, lol.

And below are the kids. While the adults were socializing in the family room, the kids were having a jam session in the boys bedroom. Isn't Brendan and Kaylin so cute visiting with Baby Reese?

They had their own table and they had a great time too.

Tina made eggplant parmigiana and baked ziti and I baked a mocha cake. I wanted to bake something else for a change but Tina insisted on having this cake. Jen brought some garlic bread but I forgot to take a picture. The food was all delicious.

Happy Birthday again, Natasha! I hope you had a wonderful birthday!

Thank you all so much for stopping by.

I am linking with

Bunny Jean for Bunny Hop Wednesday at http://bunnyjeansdecorandmore.blogspot.com/

Susan's Tablescape Thursday at http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

Kathy's Home and Garden Thursday at http://blissfulrhythm.blogspot.com/

Honey's Potpourri Friday at http://twenty-eight-0-five.blogspot.com/

Thanks for hosting, ladies!

Florida Cranes and Canals

Last Monday after taking Brendan to school, Tina and I with the 2 younger ones went to a coffee shop in Matlacha, a part of Pine Island. It's a small local coffee shop that offers free refills of coffee and they have various flavors, so I tried them all. They were all so delicious.

Notice all the shadows in the water and all the blues!

We were joined there by their beautiful German neighbor, Natasha.

As soon as we got out of the Expedition, these Florida birds, I think they are cranes, greeted us.

Notice the shadow of the vehicle and crane in the 3rd photo of the mosaic and of course the shadow of the trees in the water on the 1st and 2nd photos?

I love palm trees and you can see shadows of them in the water here.

and here.

Tina said she does not know anybody else who takes pictures of palm trees as much as I do.

But then again. I just take a lot of pictures of anything, after all, I am a dedicated blogger, aren't I?

This is what I ordered, a crab with asparagus and mushrooms omelet. It was really good but it was so big so I only finished half, took the rest home and enjoyed it the next morning.

And here is the gang, isn't Natasha lovely? I do believe my daughter is too but I know I am biased. But I am not the only one who thinks that. Do you see that guy in the background behind the counter? I bought some coffee grounds and he said my daughter is very beautiful.  In fact, he gave her a glass of free iced coffee, lol.

And my 2 grandchildren are precious!

Thank you so much for stopping by. I always enjoy your visits.

I am linking with Shadow Shot Sunday,which is hosted by the awesome trio, Magical Mystical Teacher, Rose a.k.a chubskulit and Gemma Wiseman at http://shadowshotsunday2.blogspot.com/

The Tablescaper's Seasonal Sunday at http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com/

and Sally's Blue Monday at http://smilingsally.blogspot.com/

Thanks for hosting, ladies!

The Youngest Dental Patient Ever!

The twins are doing very well. Halle looks bigger here but it's only because her photo was taken closer.

I said they were doing very well but had some anxiety the last 2 days, which actually affected all of us. You see, Halle was born with 2 baby bottom teeth. It happens though it is very rare. They are called Natal teeth. I believe it is 1 in every 3000 babies and they seem to have bothered her the last 2 days. You know how much pain a toothache can cause so she has been crying, which distresses her twin sister too, which naturally was also upsetting their mom and dad, and all of us. But that is all over now, because early this morning, the pediatric dentist pulled both teeth out. They were loose and endangering Halle into aspirating them.

Only 9 days old and already had teeth extraction. Poor baby! But she did so well.

All the other dentists and staff swarmed around to witness the clinic's youngest patient ever to be treated in that clinic. Halle was a celebrity! They were taking pictures too, lol. The poor baby, but she was a toughie though! It's good daddy was a toughie too and he was able to hold her cause her mom couldn't, and she was hiding in the corner behind the assistant. The staff was checking up on her more than  the baby, lol.

I felt so bad because I couldn't be there. I am presently with my other daughter, Tina, whose husband is presently away for a job promotion training and she needed my help with her 3 little kids. I was so relieved when Rochelle called this morning telling me that it was all over and it went fine. The babies are finally sleeping well again.

How about a big smile from Halle?

So content being held by their Tito Jed.

And just as happy being held by big sis, AJ and Tita Becky, my DIL.

They sleep like angels.

And Ate AJ is crazy about them.

Look at Halle with a big smile on her face again.

Look at Rea's eyes wide open!

Just thought I'd share these dresses that I just got for the twins. They were on clearance at Gap Kids. Still too big for them but I know how fast babies grow.

I love the material and the color.

The twins are very much alike in some ways. Here they were asleep but they had very similar positions and then they held hands. How cute is that?

And not to forget about my other newborn granddaughter, Resse, who is also growing very well.

And my step grandson, Wren, who is now more than 3 months old. I finally got to meet him last Monday. He looks so much like his dad but he definitely got his grandpa's head, lol, except for the color. He looks like he is going to be a redhead like his dad. They came to visit us in Natchez after Christmas but I was not there since I have been here in FL for my granddaughters' arrivals. But I was able to stop by their house on my way to Tina's. I am glad they were able to stay with John during my absence, at least he was not alone the whole time I am gone.

And my other 2 grandsons, Reese's big brothers, Nathan and Brendan, who were busy checking out some library books here. We all went to story telling time in the library this morning.

John's older daughter, Kerri have 3 children so that brings our grandkids to a total of 10.

 

Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing our joy while our grandkids multiply rapidly.

I am linking with

Katherine's Corner's Thursday's Favorite Things at http://katherinescorner.com/

Honey for Potpourri Friday at http://twenty-eight-0-five.blogspot.com/

Beverly's Pink Saturday at http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/

CJ's R&R Weekend Party at http://inandoutmynest.blogspot.com/

Thank you girls for hosting!