The Original Katie Pickering

I went over to my Mamo's house today.  We like to sit and catch up, sometimes play Scrabble and usually, before I leave, she gives me some amazing 50+ year old treasure from their house or a classic story that just brightens my day (and a lot of time my home!)  My Mamo is and was super crafty.  She made vests, scarves, jewelry and all sorts of crafts with the Women's Club when she was a stay at home mom to three kids.  She is and always has been SUCH a classy woman, I am truely honored and humbled to be her name-sake.  So, on that crafty note, a week from today we are going to be doing a FUN craft project together at her house.  Macaroni Christmas Trees!  They will grace my mantle, and probably several other places, this year for Christmas so be looking for pictures of the finished product!  My Mamo, like me, LOVES all things girly and frilly and ruffley.  She has been making these DARLING ruffled-like scarves except they are sewn together at the end, like one big ruffle all around.  She then has big flower pins that she pins onto the ruffle making the most beautiful neck adornment you've ever seen.  The best way to explain it is to show you ...

Is that not the cutest thing ever?  You just wear it with a black shirt/dress/whatever and you have SUCH girly cuteness added to your outfit!  She gave me this one, the flower is actually black and I have another red flower that is interchangeable.  I am pretty sure she is where I get a lot of my need to be crafty from.  I guess my husband now knows who to blame ;0)  While I was there she gave me an old picture of my Papa (who passed about 2 years ago and I miss him like crazy) holding my dad as a baby.  I almost cried when I saw it.  My brother looked SO much like my dad when he was a baby it's unbelievable.  I am not sure what I'm going to do with this picture because it's small and old, but I have an obsession right now with old black and white pictures of family that I am currently working on collecting and figuring out how to display.  After the Lord of course, your family is who has helped shaped you into who you are today.  I am SO blessed to have two wonderful grandmothers left on this earth.  Both of my sweet grandpas (my Papaw and Papa) went on to be with the Lord and since then, everytime I see a little old man I have this compelling urge to hug him.  I miss my grandpa's hugs.  They were the best, most comforting hugs, and when they hugged you it was like no one could ever hurt you.  I look forward to those hugs one day when I see them again, singing and rejoicing with the angels to their glorious Savior.  I know they are happy in His prescence, no more heart disease, no more forgetting things, no more back problems or trouble swallowing.  Just pure joy in the prescence of their Maker.  Soon I'll do a post about my Mama and her sweetest, most giving and loving heart in the world and how she's taught me to love and adore my family.  And how to give to others before we worry about ourselves.  In the meantime I'll leave you with the picture of my Papa and my daddy. 

Precious.  I miss you Papa and Papaw.