Monday, March 30, 2009

A Sweet Surprise



The flowers concerned me tonight. There was about 4 or 5 things that we needed from Wal-Mart. We were already in town, and it was late due to C.'s practice and eating supper. The plan was that I would be the only one to go in to save time. I wasn't in there but about 5 minutes; I grabbed the items we needed and headed to the checkout. I was surprised as I approached the checkout line that my husband and two children were checking out with something, too. I didn't know what had brought them in, but S. ran up to me and said, "Daddy bought you flowers!" I said to him, "I was only in here for 5 minutes. What could you have possibly done within that time??" To which he responded, "I'll tell you later." Okay, this really concerned me, because he normally doesn't just buy me flowers. I told the cashier that maybe they weren't for me. I'm still clueless.......... We get out to the truck, and my curiosity had the best of me. I had to know what was going on. He started to say, "At about 6:30 PM this very night, 18 years ago...," and it dawned on me as I thought of the date, March 30. "I put a ring on your finger and asked you to marry me." Wow! I hadn't thought anything about it, and I don't think we've ever celebrated this day, but today he chose to do something special. He's a great and thoughtful husband, and I'm glad I said, "YES!!!"

Friday, March 27, 2009

School Gets "Corny"

For a history activity today we made cornbread. That is what young little Betsy served President George Washington when he came to her house. The kids followed the recipe that we were given, even though I've never made cornbread with sugar in it. They made it. All I helped them do was measure the ingredients and pour it in the pan. It smelled so yummy while it was cooking that we couldn't resist trying it when it was done. It was very good; so good that I'll have to keep the recipe and use it again. Top it with just a little butter, and YUM-O!!











Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Children Say Some Profound Things....

A conversation on the way to church tonight............

S: Mama, how do blind people drive?
Me: They hook a dog to the front of the car, and it guides it.
S: It looks like the dog would be scared it would get run over.
Me: The dog can see. It's not blind.
S: Oh.
Me: I'm just kidding. Blind people can't drive.
C.: I hope if I get blind I can hook a dog onto the car and pull it all the way to Africa!
Me: I hope you never go blind.
C: Well, if I do I'll have a wife.
Me: So you'll go blind and get married?
C: No, I'll get married, and THEN I'll go blind.

If only he knew.......... :o)

Monday, March 23, 2009

"In the Name of the Father, I Baptize You, My Brother and My Son..."








What an awesome day this was - a daddy having the privilege of baptizing his son. And it wasn't just ANY daddy and ANY son; it was my husband and OUR son. We are without a pastor right now, and since Carl is ordained as a deacon, the church voted to allow him to baptize C. This just made this event even MORE special. What a memory for them both, for us all. :o)

On a different note, I guess you see a duck floating around in one of the pictures. When the choir came down, Carl mumbled, "Who put that duck in there?" I said, "I don't know," and we both laughed. We found it humorous, and felt that someone was just initiating Carl with it being his first baptism. As it turned out we were right, AND we guessed right off who was responsible for it! :o) Needless to say, some in the church were upset about it, but we were not. Sometimes I wish Christians would let themselves laugh at things. I really think they believe it's a sin for Christians to have fun, especially in church!! I fully believe that God has a sense of humor (Have you ever heard some of the sounds that come out of our bodies???), and I hope I don't ever become so stiff and rigid that I become an Old Fart!!!!! And, yes, I said that! (In a joking way, of course. wink wink) :o)

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Put On The Full Armor of God




Today's project was to dress a small stuffed animal in the full armor of God. The kids enjoyed dressing their favorite stuffed animal, Chopsticks and Lasso. Then we talked about how we shouldn't go "out into the world" without the armor because it protects us and helps us take a stand for God.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Field Trip to Our Favorite Blacksmith







We had alot of fun today going on a field trip to see our favorite blacksmith. The work he does is very interesting. And I never realized how creative he was until today. Before he can mold the metal it has to be AT LEAST 1500 degrees. Then he uses the hammer, anvil, and whatever other tools he needs to complete his task. We all really enjoyed learning about blacksmithing, and he made us some little souvenirs to bring home, too.


We decided since we were up in that area to go to the county library there, if for no other reason, but to keep Leap of Faith's memory alive. :o) We each chose our books, and scanned them on the way to lunch...................


at our favorite Mexican restaurant. Again, all for the sake of Leap of Faith. :o)

A Picture is Worth......???




C. loves his handcuffs, and you never know where you may find them. This particular night on the way to bed, we noticed that he had handcuffed my bag that holds all of my "essentials" for the night, to the lamp post. He and S. were tucked in bed and sound asleep as it was very late, so we had a low key chuckle about it.







As we sat in the parking lot at Sam's, waiting to have our tires rotated, C. volumteered to take us to Hawaii. (Smart boy) He said he was going to drive us to the airport. :o)










What an odd sight this strawberry was.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue

I'm not talking marriage here. I'm talking FOOD!! I feel like I have spent most of my entire day in the kitchen, but I've enjoyed it. Carl was off today, and he and the kids have spent pretty much all day outside, after homeschooling, of course. That gave me some time to try a new recipe that I've been wanting to try, along with some other things, too.

We along with many others have been pinching pennies due to several medical bills, the cost of medical supplies, auto problems, etc. That means staying home more. Well staying home more means cooking more. I started the day out by making blueberry muffins, and this was a first for me. :o) I've always relied on those packaged muffin mixes, adding only milk. I've been reading labels, and learning alot about ingredients in some of these foods that we usually purchase, and of course those things that we are trying to avoid is found in the muffin mixes. I found blueberries on sale (bogo) the other day at a local grocery store, and purchased some. The muffins were pretty tasty, and everyone enjoyed them. I liked having the fresh tasting blueberries in them as compared to the imitation blueberry "bits" found in the mixes. (This was my something blue.)

Next, I have a recipe for homemade granola from a fellow blogger that I've been dying to try, so I made that this afternoon. It's very good and has a lot of options to choose from. Here's the recipe, if you like. Let me just say, if I may, that I really have been enjoying her blog. She is a godly woman with lots of ideas for serving the Lord in her family. I've never met her, but if you read her blog, you can't help but pick up on that. God has used her to encourage and inspire me just when I need it. Who knew that blogging could do that?? Only God can take anything and use it for His glory. (That's my something borrowed and my something new.)

My something old is what we're having for supper tonight. (Pick yourself up off the floor, Leap of Faith!!) My mom had some grilled chicken that she had left over from Sunday's lunch, and she wanted to know if we wanted it. I try not to look a gift horse in the mouth, so I took it and ran. :o) (And, no, my mom is not a horse.) Ha! Ha! I have a recipe from an old friend that we used to hang around with. I don't remember how we met him, but he attended the local college near us, and we sort of took him "under our wing" at times, and at other times he took us "under his wing" when he would cook for us. I must say, he's a really good cook, too. Well, the recipe I got from him, I call Andy's Chicken because it doesn't have an official name. It's simple and delicious! Here's that recipe:

3 or 4 chicken breasts, cooked, and cut up
2 cans cream of chicken soup
8 oz. sour cream
Ritz crackers
Scatter chicken in the bottom of a greased dish. In a separate bowl, mix the chicken soup and sour cream, and pour over chicken. Top with crushed Ritz crackers, and cook at 325 degrees for about 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Well, the day is drawing to a close, and guess what???? I have an absolute mess to clean up in the kitchen. A woman's work is NEVER done. I'm not complaining, though. I'm glad that I can serve my family by making some nutritious and better than "fast food" type meals. And I'm thankful to have a family to enjoy sitting down with and eating together. Can we press a "Pause" button so that moments like these will last forever?? If only......................

Monday, March 2, 2009

SNOW DAY!!






FINALLY we got some snow!!!! It came down in sucn big flakes for quite a long period of time. We had anywhere from 3-4 inches at our house, which is rather unusual. It was absolutely beautiful, waking up from my Sunday afternoon nap, gazing out through the sliding glass door, and being greeted by those huge, white flakes!

The photos above show a progression from when the snow first started falling around 4:15 Sunday, March 1 and as it went on through the evening, even into the night.

The photos below are from the next day (Monday, March 2) as we played in the snow with our neighbor's kids. We had fun sledding, throwing snowballs, and just enjoying God's beautiful painting of earth. :o)












Throwing snowballs can be somewhat dangerous! (Take a look at J.'s eye.)





These last two are my favorites!!!