The Most Precious Gifts

December 2013

May 2008 at the wedding of CharlesAnna and Jonathan Williams

Our Christmas card picture for December 2009

December 2008, was the last time I was able to have a Christmas card with my entire family's picture on it.  In May of 2009, my son, Walker suffered a fatal accident while kayaking on the Tallapoosa River in Alabama, near Auburn University where he was a senior majoring in Forestry and Land Development.  It was graduation weekend.  Walker was lost at the river from Friday noon til 10:32 on the following Sunday morning, which also happened to be Mother's Day.  {continue reading after the break…}

My Wish For You!

It occurred to me this morning that we love being in our homes during the holidays, with the fresh tree, twinkling lights, soft music and good smells wafting from the kitchen.  The reason we love this holiday atmosphere is due to the added time and attention we expend in making our homes feel special.  What if we did that all year long?  Can you imagine always having fresh flowers, a live tree or good things baking in the oven?  I don't know about you, but between kids, work and chores, I know I don't always put forth the effort necessary to create a sense of specialness year round in my own home.  I have decided to commit  to making an extra special effort at creating a more nurturing atmosphere in my home in 2014.  I spend so much time making other people's homes special and often my gets a shortened version. 

Will you join me in my efforts to create a more nurturing environment for your family?  There are lots of new things on the horizon for Lisa Mende Design.  Can't wait to share, but for now I must go get ready for church and a day with family!  We have cards, decorations and gift buying to finish.  How bout you, are you ready?  Only 10 more days left til Christmas!

Take time enjoy the moments this holiday season.

  I find if I start with an attitude of joy and don't rush through the events, I enjoy them so much more.    Let's try to set our intentions each morning to  that of thanksgiving,happiness and gentleness towards our fellowman.  It will make a huge difference in your day.  

Happy Holidays!

Thanksgiving Thankful!

Via

Thanksgiving has come and gone, but my feeling of thankfulness remains abundantly present.  I decided to take a break this week and focus on my family, hence no blog post since Monday.  My mother has been sick, so we traveled a day early to the family cabin, so that I could do things my mom usually does to prepare for the Thanksgiving gathering.  Our cabin is only 5 years old, but it feels as though we have always had it.  It's only about 10 minutes from my parent's house, but it has become a favorite gathering place for our family especially at Thanksgiving and Christmas.   I went a day early to the cabin, so I could make the flower arrangements and prepare some of the food. 

I wanted to share some pictures of our day with you.  {click to continue reading….}

Thank You to My Top 7 Traffic Referral Sites This Week!

In Honor of November being the month of Thanksgiving I have decided to show gratitude every Sunday!  I'm kicking off gratitude Sunday with thanks to my fellow bloggers!

I would like to say a huge thank you to the following blogs who were my biggest traffic referrals this past week!  Thank You So Much!  It means a lot to me to receive traffic from fabulous blogs like yours!

[ click on the title to continue reading...]

Hope Your Thanksgiving Was....& A Giveaway Winner Announced !!!!

Like ours...

A crazy fun day...full of family, food & fellowship!

Enough food to feed an army.... 

Complete with a comfy place to crash

 "after the damage was done!

(I won't share our "after" photo, trust me

 it wasn't a pretty sight!) 

Here's wishing everyone has recovered from all the turkey 

and stuffing from yesterday! Now it's time to think about 

Christmas Shopping!!!

If you are like me and would rather stay home on Black 

Friday, and you are ALLLLLL about Cyber Monday, then you 

might enjoy the Black Friday coupon codes on the right – for 

fabulous discounts on everything!!!!

{If you are viewing this via email or a reader, you will need to 

click over to the Lisa Mende Design Page to see the codes 

and click on the image links}

Happy Shopping!

Congrats to The Winner of The Pyar & Co Gift Certificate!!!!

The winner of the Pyar & Co $100 gift certificate is

Betty Smith! 

Betty send me your email, so I can forward your

gift code to purchase a lovely Pyar & Co pillow!

If you didn't win, make sure you click over to Pyar & Co

Site today and purchase a pillow during her Black Friday Sale!

Thank You Paula for your generosity!

Now for the Next Big Giveaway!!!

I have decided to wait til Monday to announce!

If you are renovating your kitchen, you might want to 

check back on Monday to enter to win!!!!!