The Days All Run Together

The past week has been a blur…with very little sleep working on our An American Gold Star Christmas and The House That Love Built, I wound up pretty sick by Friday. Thankfully, today all of our gifts will ship to our 300 Gold Star kids and we are going to be down to just one project still to finish.

The highlight of the weekend by far was helping my sidekick– the other half of my brain– my partner in crime for over a decade now– Amanda Yannotta throw her father in love a 70th surprise birthday bash! Just look at these pictures of Amanda’s creativity! (I’m still searching for whose phone I used to take a selfie of the two of us…And the group shot of Marsha the Magnificent and Rachel the Really Cool–who both worked their fannies off to help set up– that includes Amanda and I is not Marsha’s favorite pic. So in true sisterhood, I won’t post THAT one.)

The furniture was mostly rented from True Love Decor Vintage and the rest of the magic was Amanda’s many days and nights spent crafting and creating away. There was not a single detail left undone.

The night could not have been any more beautiful! Perfect weather, delicious food from Bolay, and a wonderful man to celebrate!

I love my dearest friend who has been there for me through all the craziness of life. She’s always up for a challenge, serves and loves tirelessly, never thinks of herself and has more creativity in her pinky finger than 100 people do throughout their lives. We’ve done houses, weddings, parties, nurseries and dorm rooms together– and she always makes work seem fun. Amanda, more than anyone I know, is living proof that a Friend loves at all times. (proverbs 17:17) She has loved me through some pretty rough stuff.

And then there was this guy…Mike Yannotta’s UNCLE. 92-year-old Uncle Carmine who literally stole my heart. This man was without a wrinkle and NEVER without a smile…so full of love and joy. He just exuded happiness and his life was not always easy. He had been drafted to play baseball for the Yankees and then WW2 came along and he had to go fight for his country. A shoulder injury during the war prevented him from ever returning to baseball and he found the love of his life, Bun, after returning from the war. He shared stories of “back in the day” with me and then graciously helped me make a video to promote The House That Love Built. I love this man for the lesson he taught me last night…One that I knew in my heart but needed to be reminded of…Love and joy is a choice, not a product of our circumstances.