A Cheerful Heart is Good Medicine

This is my hubby on his Harley just 6 days after knee replacement surgery! And he is not just sitting pretty either ... Kevin zoomed off into the sunshine with his cane inside his saddlebag. I'm not sure if my sweet self is recovering from his surgery as well as he is!

We believe that you will never meet another set of faces on the planet that has been graced more than us! Throughout the time leading up to, during, and after surgery, a wonderful support system of family & friends showed us buckets of love. So many prayers, visits, calls, cards, emails, and help ... too numerous to count. I'd like to share a little project that Nurse Kay put together for sharing with our church family this morning.

First, I made two sets of tags. One girlie tag which represents the thoughts of yours truly, and a manly man tag that represents Hubby Harley. More tag detail later. While I was busy tag-making, a yummy Chocolate Zucchini Cake was baking in my oven. Several of our Sunday School friends have the gift of garden, and they regularly share with us. I like to say that going to church is like going to the Farmer's Market!

The recipe entitled "K&K's Knee Replacement Chocolate Zucchini Cake" is computer generated and adhered to cardstock. This is the best most moist slice of cake you will have this side of heaven! Works very well with apples too, instead of zucchini. It's a multi-seasonal recipe!

After cutting and wrapping cake slices, it was time to assemble gift bags. I used birthday party loot bags, which I have a fetish for whenever they are on sale. It's handy to have a drawer full of all shapes, sizes, and colors to use for cards, gifts, and the like. A fun tip from Mish that I enjoy is to clip bags closed with a decorated wooden clothespin, but I chose to use pretty ribbon for a tight closure on my food project. In short order, I had a basket full of goodies!

It was so much fun and more than a little humbling to distribute these thank you bags at church this morning! While some scurried to help Kevin find a seat as he trotted off on his walker, I mumbled a silent prayer for the blessing of ministry & fellowship of God's peoples, not to mention the enjoyment I had from this project after a very long week!

I used a Sizzix Scallop Tag Die, and Marvey oval and scallop punches for the stamped designs. I chose Proverbs 17:22 for my girlie tag sentiment -- part of a clear inspirational stamp set by Stampendous that I picked up a few weeks ago at Shipshewana (SHOPshewana!). The heart trees are from a past Unity KOM, and the thank you is from Papertrey's Vintage Picnic set.

"If You obey all the rules, You'll Miss all the FUN" is the perfect sentiment for my Hubby Harley's Manly Man tag! It's from The Paper Company Clear Stamp Set Playful Expressions which I scored at Michaels with a 40% off coupon! SO many good sentiments - SMILE! The tiny motorcycle (is that a dichotomy or what!) stamp is by Inkadoo and it has helped me make great wrapping paper and tissue on other projects! Have a beautiful day!