Dinner With Brenda and Clifford

Last night we were honored to have our friends, Clifford and Brenda, over for supper. With busy schedules and something going on at church, pretty much every weekend, we don't have the opportunity to entertain in our home often. We had a great time with them and we're so glad they were able to come.


I served lasagna, salad, and garlic bread. In my opinion, the lasagna needed more sauce and the garlic bread was chewy. Normally, I buy the Cole's garlic bread, but they were out and I ended up with the Wal Mart brand. All in all, though, it was pretty good. I didn't hear any complaints and I have NEVER seen Harrison put lasagna away like he did last night.


After supper, Hannah served us her Devil's Food, milk chocolate covered cake. This thing was HUGE! And oh, so good! It was moist and rich and we are definitely going to pay for eating it.

Great job, Hannah!


This is the kind of picture you get when you don't know what you're doing. Way to go, Clifford! Who gave him the camera anyway?


Clifford and Brenda, we're so glad y'all were able to come. It was wonderful having you in our home. The talk and laughter was just what we needed yesterday. We hope we can do it again soon.

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Missy works in our deaf ministry. Here is a video of her singing and signing to Oh, Sacred Lamb. Have a wonderful Sunday!

Bad Blogger, Good Grandparents

Bruce and I had an outing for our Sunday school class last night and THIS blogger forgot her camera. I know...I know. It is just not like me to do that, but if you understood how my day went yesterday you'd understand why I forgot the camera. Pictures were the last thing on my mind.

There were about ten couples that showed up for the outing. We met at the church and rode the bus to the Crystal Sea restaurant. It's a fish camp, but they serve other things too. As a matter of fact, I noticed Brother Ted ordered a burger, which looked rather large and pretty tasty. Most of us got the buffet. We had a GREAT time of fellowship with one another and laughed...a LOT. We usually always do when we get together.

Those of you that didn't make it...AND YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE...we missed you a whole bunch. Maybe next time.

Justin had gone to a game with a couple of his friends last night while Hannah stayed home with Harrison. When we returned home from the outing, my Mother-in-law's car was in the driveway. She was snuggled up on the couch with the kids, each of them under a blanket, watching a video together. The smell of popcorn lingered in the air and doughnuts were on the table. We were glad to see her and glad she was able to spend time with the kids. That was a nice surprise for them.

Thank you, Marie! The kids were happy to have you here!

Another nice surprise for Hannah yesterday was that my daddy picked her up and took her to the mall to buy her some Aeropostale perfume. She had been wanting some for a while and was happy to find it in Puerto Rico within the price range she was willing to spend. She's very frugal, my girl! Anyway, she had it at her grandparents a couple of weeks ago when she and Taylor were spending time with my folks. But it disappeared on her and she didn't tell me until earlier this week. She was upset about it but since she keeps things to herself as much as she is frugal (lol) she didn't let on too much of how it was bothering her. But I could tell. Anyway, when daddy found out about it, he insisted on buying her a new bottle....and a sprite....and a chocolate covered pretzel.

Thanks, Paw Paw. That was so sweet of you.

We're Ready!

Justin and Harrison are staying with my parents tonight, so Hannah and I stayed busy today doing laundry and cleaning house. I'll pick the boys up when I clean my parent's house tomorrow. Lord willing, Justin will be able to get our grass cut tomorrow. He didn't have time to do it today. I hear it's supposed to rain tomorrow, so we'll see.

He was able to do some welding today. He was pretty excited about that when I picked him up. I asked him what he welded. He said, "Nothin' really. We just welded some scrap pieces together. But it was FUN!" lol

We're ready to start school on Monday. I'm looking forward to our new year.

Right now, though, I'm going to bed. It's been a long day and I'm tuckered out.

NITE!

Dear Daddy

Someone asked about my daddy so I wanted to give an update. He's doing a lot better. He is slowly regaining strength and still in high spirits. His most difficult days are the days he goes to dialysis, of course. But God is good and helps him through it.

If you've been keeping up on his blog, you know he got his new glasses. The stroke damaged his eyes, but after his last exam and new glasses, the doctor has given him permission to start driving again. He's happy to have been given that freedom back.


Be careful, daddy! I love you. ;)

New Recipes

I have updated Blogger's Recipes with eight new recipes if you'd like to check those out. All of these were contributed by my Aunt Janice and they look so great.


Thank you, Aunt Janice!!

A Day With the Folks and a Little About My Weekend

This morning I took my mom to run some personal errands. We had a good time riding together and talking.

It's been raining since yesterday afternoon. Mostly on and off, but when it's on it's heavy and long. Mom and dad gave me this very rainbow umbrella.

Don't you just love it? I do! I found it rather ironic that it was raining so hard as I held a rainbow umbrella. You know, Rainbow, being the symbol of God never to destroy the earth by flood again? :) If you click on the picture, you can see how heavy the rain was. It's been like this all day and probably won't let up until the weekend.

I ran errands with Hannah and Harry while Justin was at Auto Body class and then later this evening my parents came for supper. We had a very nice visit and I was happy they were able to come. Especially since they brought Krispy Kreme doughnuts and cheese danishes. LOL

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Saturday, the kids and I helped in the bus ministry for their annual Water Day. It was a very wet day! Mrs. Janet, Mrs. Pam, Mrs. Amy, and myself stopped at Little Caesars and picked up 20 boxes of pizzas. Cameron and Alanna were happy to find that Mrs. Janet ordered plenty boxes of cheese.


Jeremy preached his first sermon to our bus kids. His message was on being sanctified. He did a great job! I was happy to have been there to hear it.


And of course Grandma Ola was there to lend moral support. Jamie thought I was taking a picture of him. LOL


After Jeremy's sermon, Brother Daniel got up and emphasized that "God wants YOU to be sanctified!"


After preaching the children couldn't WAIT to get outside in the water. These three boys came in to eat! And boy did they!


There was the Wild Rapids slide, which the children and adults alike had a blast sliding down.


A couple of girls turned on Brother Randy and fought him for the hose. This, of course, was after his wife, Mrs. Kellie, had fought him for it. Judging by how wet she is, I'd say she lost that battle.


TWO AT A TIME!! The line was so long.



Some of the teenagers came in to eat some more pizza. Good thing Mrs. Janet ordered 20 boxes!


Justin threw a water balloon at Mrs. Pam. So while he was enjoying a time of cookies and coke....


...Mrs. Pam got him back with a bucket of water.


He took it quite well.


Carissa thought it was funny too. Notice the camo culottes she's wearing. I believe those are the ones I made Celine ages ago.


Mrs. Freida was busy sweepin' and moppin' while everyone played in the water. I don't think she got wet at all. We'll have to fix that THIS Saturday!


Brother Andrew had the funniest look on his face when I snapped this pic of him. He is so sweet and so funny.


Poor Mrs. Janet had so much to do Saturday besides Water Day. But while she was cleaning the tables, Brother Randy threw water on her and she ended up having to buy a new shirt before she did her other errands. But she said that was OK. She needed a new shirt anyway.

After Water Day was over, several of us loaded up the vans and headed to a church member's home to help her move. The guys made the actual moving trips and us gals helped put things away as much as we could since they're having their house painted this week. Then we all headed back to the fellowship building for supper together. I think we were all exhausted that night.

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Sunday afternoon we had a bridal shower for Jennifer, who is marrying our Associate Pastor's son, Jonathan, in just a few short weeks.


Mrs. Vondie, Mrs Ava (our Pastor's wife) and Mrs. Becky always do a great job on our church showers.


There was a pretty good turn out for the shower. I was happy about that.


Mrs. Kim couldn't put her camera down, but she did stop to smile for me. Hi Kim!


The gift table


Jennifer was having a good time playing with one of our Foster children at church. One of the families in our church have the CUTEST little foster kids. They've pretty well raised their family already and my heart was touched Sunday as I watched them walk out of the church with four little ones. So sweet. This one (I don't want to give her name) has the chubbiest little legs. I just have to squeeze 'em every time I see her.

Gentlemen...

...start your engines!

The children's school books came in today. Harrison has been eagerly awaiting their arrival. Imagine his disappointment when the UPS truck pulled up in the driveway, sat there for five minutes, and then left. He and Hannah looked at each other, trying to figure out what was going on. Why didn't he deliver our books? Why did he just leave? What about our books?!?!

There was nothing to be done but wave goodbye to him as he pulled away. We were all a little disappointed but then later in the day I opened the front door and guess what was there! Our books!

The children carried in the box and after making sure everything was there, Hannah and Harrison opened his Math Animals board game and played a short game before supper. Great game! Harrison has already asked Hannah if she would play a game of the Word Race with him tomorrow. Of course she said she would. Does your family play educational games? If so, what kind?

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Here is another video of our youth choir singing I Remember the Day.

Be sure to check out daddy's blog. He's made several updates recently. I'm sure he'd love to hear from ya!

Name That Tune

The kids and I were playing a game of Name That Tune tonight. I would click on a song in my iTunes Library and after only a few bars I would stop the song and Justin would guess what it was. Hannah and I were very impressed at how well he was doing.

At one point in the game I clicked on the song When I Get Carried Away, by Gold City. You know the one.....

I'm gonna let the glory roll when the roll is called in glory
I'm gonna get beside of myself when I get beside the King, that day
I'm gonna have the time of my life when the time of my life is over
I'm gonna get carried away, when I get carried away

Just as Justin was about to shout out the answer, Harrison yelled, "I'm Gonna Get Buried Away!"

Needless to say, we all got tickled.

Since this post is somewhat about music, here is a video of our youth choir, along with a few past members, singing That Story Will Never Grow Old. Enjoy!

Are All The Children In?

We were so privileged to attend the Memorial and Home-going service for Mrs. Barbara Weathers tonight. It was very different. Like one I've never attended.

Mrs. Weathers had a double lung transplant about four years ago. Her body rejected those lungs, but God kept her here for four more years. During those four years, she worked endlessly in our bus ministry and where ever else she might be needed.

She began to develop cancer and, on more than one occasion, came into church with patches on her face and around her eyes where they had cut out cancer. Like our Pastor said tonight, sometimes it was so bad, that most women would be more apt to stay at home and not want to come out in public. But she just had to be at bus ministry or sitting on the front pew of the church. She loved the Lord so much and just couldn't get enough of Him, His WORD, and the fellowship of His people.

The music was just like what we always sing in church. The preaching was just like what we always hear. And the Spirit of God moved in. At the close of the service, Pastor gave an invitation, as requested by Mrs. Weathers, and her oldest son gave his heart to Christ. There were shouts of praise ringing out across the church between our tears and as I looked at Mrs. Weather's four children sitting on the same pew their mother was so faithful to be in, I realized that a mother's prayer for her children was answered and all her children were in.

I have walked and knelt in every room of the house; I have fondled the
old Book, sat quietly at the kitchen table and been hurled around the world to
follow a boy who went to war. I have sought through hospitals and army
camps and battlefields. I have dogged the steps of sons and daughters in
college and university, in the big city looking for a job. I have been in
strange places, for I have even gone down into honky-tonks and dens of sin, into
nightclubs and saloons and back alleys and along dark streets. I have
ridden in automobiles and planes and ships seeking and sheltering and guiding
and reminding and tugging and pulling toward home and Heaven.

I have filled pantries with provision when the earthly provider was
gone. I have sung songs in the night when there was nothing to sing about
but the faithfulness of God. I have been pressed so close to the promises
of the WORD that the imprint of their truth is fragrant about me. I have
lingered on the lips of the dying like a trembling melody echoed from
Heaven.

I am not unanswered, although Mother may be gone, although the home may
be dissolved into dust, although the little marker in the graveyard grows
dim. I am still here: and as long as God is God, and truth is truth, and
the promises of God are 'yea and amen,' I will continue to woo and win and
strive and plead with boys and girls whose mothers are in Glory, but whose
ambassador I have been appointed by the King Emmanuel. For I am.........a
mother's prayer.

Mrs. Weathers

Mrs. Weathers passed away last night. She was a true servant of the Lord and loved the bus ministry. Here she is speaking about the bus ministry in a video Brother Randy did a while back. We will miss her so much!

Today Is Another Day

I accomplished absolutely NOTHING I wanted to accomplish yesterday. Well, that's not entirely true. I did make it to the desk drawer. But that's ok. Today is another day, right? I'm getting ready to tackle the boy's room....again.

I had taken Justin to work yesterday and drove over to see if my parents needed anything. They really didn't, but I was able to make up mom's bed, pick up a few things around the house, and have lunch with them. As usual, there were lots of giggles and cuttin' up.

Daddy picked Justin up from work and brought him back to their house. He ate his lunch and then we came back home. Justin was really dirty and really tired after work so between him showering and napping, there was no way I was getting in their room before getting ready for church and cooking supper. Oh, supper...yeah, I didn't really cook yesterday either. It was egg salad sandwiches on the Wednesday night menu because SOMEONE...ahem me...forgot to take meat out of the freezer. Speaking of which, I better do that now or we'll be eating egg salad again tonight.

Tomorrow is another day with no mistakes in it....yet!

~Anne of Green Gables~

Whistle While I Work

Today I'm tackling my desk drawer. Every school year I clean it out and it's almost empty. At the end of the year, it's slap full. The drawers on this desk are really deep. How does that happen, anyway?

I'm also finishing the boy's room today. I wasn't going near the closet yesterday, but I couldn't help myself. I tried doing the I Dream of Jeanie blink, but it doesn't work. The Bew*tched nose wiggle didn't work either. And wouldn't you know, I couldn't find a magic wand anywhere! So it ended up taking longer in their room than I intended. Oh well.

Do y'all enjoy that type of cleaning? Closets, drawers, cabinets? I probably don't do it as often as I should, but when I do get around to it, I love it. It is difficult to pull myself away from it, though, once I get started. Anyone else like that? I should probably try the

Fly Lady's

suggestion of no more than five minutes on one thing at a time. Who has tried that and found it helpful?

A Happy Morning

I started on my bench yesterday but forgot to take a "before" picture. It took a couple of hours to apply the primer. Bruce is going to buy me some paint this weekend. Even with just the primer on it's already looking pretty. I think I'm going to paint it white and stencil a scripture verse across the back. I thought that would be pretty.

I dropped Justin off at his class this morning. He had to be there at 8:00. On the way home, I stopped at Wal Mart to pick up the last of my school supplies I needed. I also bought a small box of Krispy Kreme, chocolate covered, cream filled doughnuts and an orange soda. When I got home, Harrison was still in bed and had NO idea I had even been out of the house this morning. When he woke up we sat in the living room talking for a few minutes before I said, "Wouldn't a chocolate covered creme filled doughnut and orange soda be good this morning?" He said, "Ohhhh, yeah, it would." I stood up and walked to the table, "Well let's have some then." His eyes grew wide, his eyebrows went down, and he said in amazement, "How'd you do that?" HA! I know that doughnuts and orange soda aren't exactly the healthiest way to start out the day, but we were out of pop tarts.


I also spoke with daddy this morning. He was laughing and chuckling over an email I had sent my mother. I'm glad I could start his morning off with a smile.

I'm getting ready to work on organizing our book shelves and packing up old school books for future use. That should be an all day job. So before I begin, I'll throw a roast in the crock pot. See ya later!

What Are We Doing Today?

I ordered my children's school books Saturday morning. Yeah, I know...nothing like waiting 'til the last minute. They should be here, Lord willing, by the end of the week or the beginning of next week. I always order when everyone else is ready to begin school. That way, I get the end of summer discount AND I don't have to wait as long for the order to process.

Hannah is spending a few days with a lady in our church. She's helping her pack up her house to move closer to our town. They've been praying and looking for a house in this area for a long while, driving almost an hour to church. They were also praying for their daughter to get in at one of our local Christian schools. The Lord answered both of those prayers right on time for them. So Hannah will help them pack for a few days and come home Wednesday night after church. Then Saturday, some of the men in the church will be helping them move. I'm so happy for this family.

Justin and I drove up the road and picked up some magazines I got from freecycle and we'll be giving those to our dear, sweet, teacher friend, Mrs. Anna. On our way back, we stopped at mom and dad's to see if Brother Randy needed help getting daddy into the house. We had a really tough time Friday. Anyway, Brother Randy had already got him in the house and was pulling out of the drive when we got there. But we were able to visit with my parents for a few minutes before I had to drop Justin off at work. He'll be working until sometime into the evening today. He had his first computer class at community college Friday and he'll start his first Auto Body class tomorrow morning. He's pretty excited about that.

And Harrison...well, this is just gross...is watching our cat eat a bird, giving me the play by play of the whole ordeal. BOYS! What will we do with them? I suppose we could consider this as Science, right? He cracked me up last night. We had an after glow with the youth and their parents. He came up to me giggling and carrying on. He told me that he and his friend Matt were playing hide and seek, but he wasn't going to look for Matt. He was just going to leave him hiding. He thought that was so hilarious.

Bruce bought me some things I needed to start a new project. Mom and dad gave me a bench that belonged to my Paw Paw. So I'm getting ready to paint it and dress it up a bit. I have an idea floating in my head but it really hasn't become a "vision" so right now, I'm just painting. I also want to do some things in the kid's rooms this week.

We have another funeral to attend this week. Last night during church, we were told that our Mrs. Debbie had gone to Heaven after fighting cancer the last several months. It seems as though it's becoming a busy week, so blogging may be sparse and if it is, you know why!

So have a great week! OH! Stop by Paw Paw's paradise and see his last two posts.

Gearing Up!

Saturday night, the SIGMA sponsors had their first meeting of the new year with Brother RJ and Mrs. Liz. We were taken to the Copper River Grill in Boiling Spring, SC. The food was good, but I particularly enjoyed the atmosphere. The kitchen is out in the open and you can see everything the chefs are doing. The ceilings are very high and the seating is spacious. It was nice. They served those warm, sticky, honey buttered croissants with our salad. MMmm, I love those way too much.


Brother Chris and Brother RJ


Bruce


Mrs. Liz and Dana


Me


Me, Liz, and Dana


Chris and Bruce were pickin' their teeth. Like twins separated at birth!


We had a good time chatting about the new year. We were given the list with our teams on it, discussed the possible activities for the upcoming year, and were told the theme for this year. We begin in just a couple of weeks. So I don't want to give away too much right now.

After dinner, we took a tour through DRAVO!! That was interesting. *giggle*

Brother RJ and Mrs. Liz dropped the rest of us off at the church to pick up our cars and we stood around and talked for a little while more. That was fun.

All in all, it was a great evening. Thank you, Brother RJ and Mrs. Liz, for a wonderful supper. We're excited about the new year!!

Check out mom's blog to see pics of my beautiful niece!

Date Night and Pet Chewies

See my Home Sweet Home block? I happened upon a store that was having a 90% off lowest Clearance. I got my block for thirty cents! Those are my kind of sales!

Me and my sweet honey went out to eat Friday night at the Crystal Sea fish camp. The people that own the restaurant go to our church. We had never heard of it until Pastor told us about it. So we gave it a try. It was very good!

On one of the walls, a local gentleman had painted a mural of the Last Supper. At first I thought it was one of those giant wall rugs, but then realized it was a 3D painting.

My sweetie pie!

We went to Wal Mart after we ate so I could exchange some things and while we were there, we decided to have fun with the security monitors. We also ran into Brenda and Clifford. They talked and talked and talked and I just couldn't get away from them. *grin* Actually, it was me. I just rambled on about everything. I don't know what was wrong with me. I just couldn't hush. Brenda and Clifford, please accept my apologies. lol

We bought Yogi this chew log. It's made with alfalfa and honey. He's really enjoyed nibbling on it. He's as big as the log and enjoys hiding in it. Especially when we leave peppers and grapes just in reach for him.