Rosemary Hibiscus Tea- Unicorn Donuts- Stations of the Cross- and Happy Mail!

Yes, that’s a whole lot of food for thought, but it was a wonderful bit of fun and blessings for us today.

I knew I wanted to go to one of our local churches again to share the “Stations of the Cross” with the daycare Littles (faces hidden for privacy) and today the discounted bakery items at WalMart included the prettiest lavender “unicorn donuts”, so I decided today was the day!

Of course, I wanted to make it more special with tea!

I had recently purchased some Hibiscus Tea on sale and knew I wanted to add my fresh Rosemary to it, because that is a blend I had tried from another vendor before and really enjoyed.

If you are not familiar with all the health benefits of Rosemary, I found a great article here: https://www.organicfacts.net/rosemary-tea.html that shares “drinking rosemary tea include optimizing digestion, increasing cognitive function, preventing cancer, treating skin conditions, reducing inflammation, and easing the pain associated with it. It also aids in eliminating anxiety, improving liver function, and boosting hair health, among others. However, there are some [possible] side effects – see article. Rosemary tea is made by brewing the leaves and stem of the rosemary herb, which has the taxonomic name Rosmarinus officinalis.” Read even more at the above link.

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Traditional Medicinals always has fun quotes on their teabags.  They are individually wrapped as well, which makes for great "tea mail" tuck-ins to friends!

I brewed my stem along with 2 teabags and a heaping tablespoon of local orange-blossom honey in a thermos, for probably around 3 or 4 minutes then removed the stem and bags.  It was quite strong and the Littles absolutely loved it!  So did I.  We had it warm this time, but I love this one over ice in the summertime.

We enjoyed our tea-time outdoors near the water fountain before heading inside.  

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Each year the artists never fail to amaze me! It was such a blessing to read the full story of Holy Week to the Littles and look over each art piece. At the end, they were invited to stamp a block on a giant wall indicating one of the following: light green – I am inspired to tell others about God, orange – I feel closer to God, dark green – I learned something about God.  The littlest one choose dark green. The middle one choose orange. The eldest choose all 3 colors and carefully stamped them into a square.  So precious!

 

In addition to all this April is National Card and Letter Writing Month.  I take the Littles to the Post Office often, and each time I ask them to lay hands on the mail and pray over it. We pray that it travels safely along the way and that the Lord would bless the hands that touch it (postal workers) and the hands that receive it (happy mail recipients).  It is one more way I can instill Godly values and practices in their little hearts.  Why not send some happy mail this month and pray over it too?  I know it will bless your heart!

Until next time,

Hugs and a cup of tea,

This is some "animal tea" that the boy made me today! ;)

Operation Christmas Child and Christmas Happy Mail

Hello friends,
Just thought I drop in & post a little.  I've sort of lost my mojo for blogging.  It takes a ton of time and effort, vs. posting a quick snip on Instagram (smile).  Seasons change as you no doubt know.

from my fairy garden

Last Saturday I had the privilege of serving at *Operation Christmas Child (OCC) Processing Ctr.  It is one of only 8 in the country, so I am blessed to have access to it.  I am even more excited that I am going back Friday to hear Franklin Graham (son of Billy Graham) speak, along with some others who will share how these shoeboxes have impacted poor children of the world, and blessed them with a tangible representation of Jesus.


Some of the highlights of the day: •Praying over our boxes •A note from a child that cracked me up •Meeting a new friend who lives literally blocks away from my dad in Central CA and drove 4 hours to come serve! {behind us / photos on a wall for us to write prayers on} •a child's fun note with scriptures & games •a look at the warehouse •The OCC Christmas Tree
😊🎄❤👫👫👫🎁
but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 19:14 ESV
😊🎄❤👫👫👫❤🎄😊
#IpackedAShoebox #OperationChristmasChild

"it shows my generosity" :)

Inside the Processing Ctr.

Outside of Child's note - scriptures

Inside of Child's note - fun!

Made a new friend :)

Next to the *OCC Christmas Tree

 I also wanted to share that I am participating in a fun ornament exchange this season hosted by sweet Karina over at: "Merciful Moments".  She is a charming teenager with a heart for Jesus.  A super fun surprise was that my swap partner's name is....drum roll please....DIXIE!  Some of you may recall my 80-year-old aunt's name

If you are sending cards out, would
you consider sending an extra one to
my Aunt? She lives alone with no
modern media.  Old school mail
really brightens her day. 
Email me & I will send you her address.
(Email button to right).

is also Dixie and we write to each other regularly.  So today when we went to the post office, TWO DIXIES were sent happy mail!  Since Dixie #2 has no idea who I am, I will share my fun package which I truly hope blesses her!
She says: "I am a true "farm wife" (although in Montana it is called ranch instead of farm! LOL) I love all livestock and any farm related tools...and rust and galvanized stuff makes my heart quicken! My house is totally an older farmhouse. I love anything which is old and worn! Antiques and well-worn items "float my boat" I enjoy Hot Chocolate...anything containing chocolate...milk chocolate!!!!!"

Christmas card, magnetic calendar, stickers, Christmas teas, Organic hot cocoa [& how cute is that vintage looking packaging from Trader Joe's?], mini box of chocolates, cozy socks, Christmas towels, rusty-look metal Cross ornament, teeny-weeny rustic stocking ornament, tiny die-cast pickup... which, I TOTALLY thought was an ornament, & then found out it wasn't - ooops!

 

All wrapped up!  I included a sweet coloring page from the only thing I purchased during Cyber Monday, and that was only because I saw it was 1/2 off on her IG page! (artist: Karla Dornacher - find her awesome, brand new color book here: Christmas Color Book or the PDF version here: Christmas Color Book PDF) and then some darling advent cards from the lovely Abbey over at: Little Birdie Blessings - She had a sweet contest on her Instagram page and she gifted EVERYONE who entered the PDF printables.  How sweet is she?

I always teach the daycare Littles to pray over our outgoing packages.  It helps reinforce "pray without ceasing" and makes people far away a little more real to them.  Just an idea to share if you have Littles in your life. :)

 I hope to do a followup post when my swap partner mails me an ornament package :)

This year I am really attracted to
vintage Pointsettias. I have loved
vintage Christmas cards for years.
I spotted this one on etsy & thought it
so pretty!  And a lovely way to
close, as I wish you
"A Happy Holiday Season"

Teatime Blessings

It is always so nice to bless others, for in the giving there is great reward.  Don't you think?  I decided to send this "Grace Teawares" cup & saucer and a few goodies to a member of our FB tea group when she had to drop out of the Easter teacup swap due to health reasons.  I knew she was looking so forward to it, so what a bummer she could not participate.

Here is how I packaged it, both outside and inside.  Taping images you find on the internet inside the flaps is an easy way to add extra joy to the package!  I can't take complete credit for the Unspeakable Joy & Grace Like Rain ideas I colored on the outside of the box. I follow a crafter on IG who came up with them & puts them on all sorts of cute things. All of her proceeds go towards adopting kids! You can find her here: FRESH PICKED GRACE

Now imagine my surprise, when my dad showed up for a visit this week with a belated birthday gift for meeeeee. :-)

Summer River (c) BV Copyright, Delton Products Corp. Fine Collectibles, made in China.

The colors are so lovely and I have not seen this pattern or heard of the company.

Sadly, a quick check of the internet reveals you can not easily browse the Delton website, as they require you to register with them. Lame!

My dad found these in, of all places, a Danish restaurant called Valhalla in Visalia, CA.  Apparently, you have to walk through their gift shop to get to the dining room, making it a very expensive dining experience! (per my dad).  Anyhow, I am so touched at his thoughtfulness, and am in love with my new teawares.

The backdrop for my tea pictures are these
tangelos and...

these wonderful blooms on the tree.  If you
listen closely you can hear the buzzing of
the bees hard at work!

Have a wonderful day and be a blessing! :)