Sigma All-Nighter

This past Friday night we spent with our Sigma group having an all-nighter. It was a lot of fun and the kids were great to be with.

We met in our new facility at 6:00 pm and headed to a local mall to play some courses at the Lunar Mini Golf and do some window shopping.

Our junior sponsors (Justin, Jeremy, and Ashley) were able to make it and help us through the night. I love it when they're able to be there.

The hearts on Nicole's socks were shining brightly!

And they say that pregnant women have a glow about them. That was so true of Mrs. Jennifer. :)

Bruce had to work Friday night, but showed up sometime after we got back from mini golf. There was plenty of coffee and caffeine filled sodas to help keep him awake.

I'm so thankful for our gym and I know our boys are too, because they played hours and hours and hours of basketball. You'd think they'd get tired of it, but nope, no way!

We also divided all the kids up and played some kickball.

We popped popcorn and watched a Christian film that had us laughing and crying too. It was very good!

As the night progressed, we noticed the teenagers beginning to drop like flies and finding anywhere to lay down.

I found Brandon stretched out on the bottom of this table. I have to admit that at 4:30am, I liked his idea and wished I had thought of it first. haha

Gary planned ahead and brought a blow up mattress. Now that was some pretty smart thinkin'.

Christa plopped down in the floor. At least she didn't try laying on the tile.

And Dustin was totally passed out on the floor. The caffeine in that Dr. Pepper behind his head did not do its job for him.

Just a few of them went to sleep. For the most part, they were all awake through the night. Here they are just waiting for 6:00 am to roll around so we could go to breakfast.

We had several board games and video games that were played through the night also. Here I found Bruce and Brother Johnathan playing baseball, I think?

And if basketball in the gym wasn't enough for these guys, they played it some more on this little hoop in the banquet room.

Six o'clock did finally roll around so we loaded the vans and took them all to Ken and Mary's for breakfast. Ken and Mary's is a local establishment with down home cooking.

Brother Johnathan was the only one drinking tea at our table so he just drank straight from pitcher. lol

Some of them waited sleepy-eyed for their hot breakfast, while others dozed off on the table.

And this is the kind of behavior you get from the adults when they've stayed up all night.

Bruce loves breakfast, so he was more than happy to order all the breakfast food on the list. He got all of his favorite breakfast foods of eggs, grits, biscuits and gravy, and perfectly fried livermush. Boy did he enjoy it all!

I had two of their buttermilk pancakes with a glass of chocolate milk. They were very good.

We got home and in bed by 8:30, slept until just after 2:00, and finished the day off on a date to Northlake Mall in Charlotte and back home to our little town. I gotta admit that I did great Saturday, but Sunday morning I thought my body was ready to shut down. I made it though.

And that was our weekend with the youth group. We'll be going with them this Friday to hear them sing in a revival meeting at Brother Chris Emory's church. I haven't heard who is preaching there yet, but I'm looking forward to the meeting.

Click here to listen to them singing Redeemed.

*Blink* YAWN *Blink*

So tonight we're having an all-nighter with our Sigma youth. We'll be playing some indoor putt-putt and then making our way back to the church for a lot of gym games and other activities. Hopefully we'll have plenty of caffeine and snacks to keep them up all night. Then again.... maybe we should have no caffeine and they'll all pass out no later than 3:00. That would be great, but I remember being a teenager, and I really don't think that will happen. We'll go to breakfast in the morning and then they'll all go home and crash. Well. WE'LL all go home and crash.

We're taking Harry's iPod back tomorrow and hopefully they'll exchange it for another one if it can't be fixed. He's missed it so much. He'll be spending the weekend with his Grandmother and he's looking forward to it.

I haven't been feeling well the last few days. Kind of sick on my stomach. Nothing happening, just nauseated all the time. I almost WISH something would happen just to relieve the nauseousness. Hopefully it will pass soon.

God is so good and He is perfect in all His ways. I have several prayer requests on my heart and would appreciate your prayers with me.

I think I'm going to take a wee nap before I'm up all night with a bunch of crazy teenagers. Maybe we should have signed up our junior sponsors for tonight. LOL Looking forward to being with them and hopefully some of their youth will rub off on me and I'll manage to make it through the night!

My Mirror

My Aunt gave me a secretary (desk/table) and it is so beautiful. It's at my mom's house right now. I wanted a mirror to hang over it and this one is perfect.

Bruce made this one. He saved us lots of money on it too. Let me tell ya how, 'cause you know how I LOVE to pinch my pennies. The mirror, itself, had no frame around it and was hanging in the children's bathroom. Bruce made the frame using the chair railing we pulled off the wall when we were painting before Christmas. I think the only thing we bought to make the mirror was paint. It's so heavy I can't lift it and he had to make a brace to hang it on the wall. It was really brilliant how he did it, I must say. He's quite creative when it comes to things like this. Anyway, pricing these mirrors, one this size and this heavy would go for around $300. I'm happy at how pretty it turned out and I'm proud of my hubby for doing such a great job!

Love you, hon!

His next project is working on my windows. See the curtains in the mirror? He's making me a wooden box (valance) to go around the top. I'm very excited about it. I'll tell you why I'm excited about it when he gets it finished.

~~~~~~

I think I told you our youth choir was singing at a revival next weekend. Click here to hear them singing Redeemed. Hope it's a blessing.

Monday Meanderings

Why call this post Monday Meanderings? Because it's Monday and I'm wandering all over the place with this post. So....

I'll be hanging out with my mom tonight at her house. Eating supper and whatever else. I'm looking forward to it. Love my mom!! She's the best. A few other ladies will be there too, so we'll be sure to have a great time, I know.

Remember when I blogged about Harrison's iPod Touch he was saving up for and bought? Then a few weeks ago (sometime before Christmas) it stopped working. So we finally got around to calling Apple today and they are sending us to their Apple store in Charlotte. They'll run a few tests on it and if they can't get it to run, they'll replace it for him. That's good to know. I'm glad I bought that warranty! Harry will be happy to get his iPod back and start playing the games he had on there.

I bought Bruce the Kindle Fire for Christmas. I'm beginning to think I should have asked him for one, myself. I really like his. I haven't messed with it much, but I love all the features he's been showing me. Maybe if I'm good between now and my birthday, he'll get me one. That's a long time for me to be good, though. So we'll have to wait and see. LOL

Justin is off on Mondays, so when Bruce and I got back home from the gym, I started cooking lunch. Since Bruce works second shift, I try to cook a hot lunch so we have a sit down meal together as a family. Monday is about the only day we get to do this, unless you count Sunday, which I really don't, because my two older ones don't always come home with us after the morning service. I enjoyed having my whole family at the table, laughing and talking together. I live for those moments! :)

I took some videos of our youth choir singing last night. Lord willing I'll be able to get those uploaded to Youtube soon. When I do, I'll post them here. They were asked to sing at a service next weekend for Brother Chris Emory. We're looking forward to it. We love Brother Emory and his family, and the people there at his church.

This weekend we have our all nighter with the youth. It's been a while since I've pulled an all nighter and I'm not sure I'll make it. But we'll see. I'm looking forward to it, nonetheless. Lunar golf, bowling, and then games and snacks at our church's gym. Should be a good time.

And that's it for today. Trying to get back into this whole blogging thing is a killer sometimes. But I have to admit that I am finding it easier to write about things the more I do blog. Hope y'all have a great evening. I know I'm going to!

Chili Recipe

As we were leaving the gym today, I had to stop at the store and pick up a couple items for supper. I thought a pot of chili would be good tonight. Not to mention it would be there tomorrow night, which means NO COOKING tomorrow! :) And since date night is Saturday evenings now, that's two days in a row. I loooooooove cooking, don't get me wrong. But come on... even Martha Stewart would like this plan. Anyway, I shared my recipe for Taco Pie with you yesterday and thought I'd share this recipe also. It's really not a recipe. Just more an "add a little bit-o-this and a little-bit-o that" kind of thing.
I use the large bag of pinto beans when making my pot of chili. Especially if I want it to go a couple of days. You can add a jar of kidney beans and/or stewed tomatoes too. I love those, but my family, not so much.
~~~~~~
1 bag pinto beans
2 lbs of ground beef (try ground turkey or even shredded chicken if your family isn't opposed those)
1 jar of medium to hot salsa
1 medium jar of vegetable juice. V8 Spicy is good if you want a little more spice and today I used the low sodium.
Hot Mexican chili powder, to taste
~~~~~~
Cook pintos to tender
drain most, if not all, of the water out of the beans
Add cooked meat, salsa, vegetable juice, and chili powder to taste
Simmer for about thirty minutes to an hour
Top with chopped onions, saltines, a blend of Mexican cheese, and sour cream.
Makes a hearty meal for all!
~~~~~~
And for those of you who have trouble getting your family to eat leftovers, a tip I read in Women's Day magazine a long time ago said to spray muffin pans with cooking spray, spoon in the chili, and freeze. Then pop 'em out, place them in a gallon zip lock baggie and put them back in the freezer for a cup of chili anytime you want, during the upcoming winter days. I've done this before and it worked great. Bruce would grab a couple of them from the freezer, place them in a tupperware bowl and take them to work. By lunch time, all he had to do was heat it up and chow down. Of course this works for any soup. So enjoy!
~~~~~~
And last but not least.... Today's workout was the thirty minute circuit plus thirty minute cardio. The thirty minute circuit is thirty minutes of alternating between step aerobics and weight machines. There's a green light/red light you watch on this one. You begin with step aerobics when the light turns green. When it turns red, you move back to a weight machine and begin working it when the light turns green again. When it turns red, you quickly clean the machine and move back to the step again. It's fast paced and works both upper and lower body muscles. We like it. And then we followed it up with thirty minutes on the bicycle and treadmill.

And there ya have it!
~~~~~~
Colossians 4:6 "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with
salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man."

Recipes, This and That, and Such

In yesterday's post, I mentioned we had a young man from our church over for supper Monday night and that he liked my Taco Pie, which by the way, I found in our church cookbook a few years ago. It became a family favorite and I haven't fixed it in forever. So when I knew he was coming over, I decided to fix it. Here's the recipe in case you'd like to try it.

1 tube of original crescent rolls
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 1/2 packs of taco seasoning
16 oz sour cream
1 1/2 bags of Mexican cheese
1/2 bag of Doritos
~~~~~~
Layer the bottom of a 9x13 pan with crescents and roll edge to edge
Brown ground beef, drain, and add taco seasoning and water according to seasoning pack. Cook for several minutes. Drain. Pour taco meat on top of crescent rolls.
Spread sour cream on top of meat
Spread cheese on top of sour cream
Crumble 1/2 bag of Doritos and sprinkle on top of cheese for top layer
Cover with tin foil
Bake until Crescent rolls are done
If you find yourself without tin foil, like I did last night, just bake until the crescent rolls are done and cheese is thoroughly melted. Then crumble your Doritos on top and bake just a few minutes for the Doritos to set in the cheese.
Add a green salad mix with fresh tomatoes on the side. Yumm-o-licious!
I haven't tried this yet, but I'd like to do a fajita variation with shredded chicken.
This stuff gets gone fast. So.... ENJOY!
~~~~~~
Today we had one hour of cardio on our schedule. I did thirty on the bicycle and thirty on treadmill. Bruce did his full hour on the treadmill. It was a nice break from weight machines considering the muscles in my arms are aching from yesterday's workout. LOL Gotta tear 'em down to build 'em up, right?
I did discover that icy/hot is great for when my ankle is hurting. It felt fantabulous this afternoon. So that's a good thing.
When Bruce's doctor told him that his cholesterol and triglycerides were high, I googled some ways to lower them naturally and was reading where a handful of nuts a day can play a role in lowering your cholesterol. Yes, there are some bad nuts out there, but even they have some good nutritional values. Right now he takes high doses of behind the counter Fish Oil and it has helped a LOT. But I thought we could incorporate the nuts too. So everyday after our workout, I give us each a handful of mixed nuts. I'm nutty, but not really a nut person. Bruce loves nuts, so he loves his after-workout snack.
Tomorrow is thirty minutes cardio with the thirty minute circuit.
You're probably wondering why I'm posting about our schedule. I post those who, for whatever reason, can't make it to the gym and want a routine. It kind of gives them an idea of what they can do each day on their own. I learned something about working out, too. You can't have just a target area. You need to work everything! You also need to give your muscles a day or two to rest between weight machines or you cancel out what you did the day before. I haven't asked this yet, but I'm not sure if that's just for beginners or for everyone.
~~~~~~
A friend of mine is making halo headbands for when I take pictures of baby girls. I saw one they made the other day and it was adorable. She was able to get a little crafty so that I could have just a few headbands with interchangeable flowers, feathers, etc. I can't wait to see them all! In turn, I'll give her family a photo shoot.
Bruce bought me some new photo editing software and I think I'm going to love it. It was a little difficult to figure out at first, but I did eventually figure it out and have played with a couple of pictures. In two words I would have to say, "me likey."
~~~~~~
Tonight is SIGMA night. I'm glad we were able to keep a SIGMA night on Wednesdays and the youth still be in the church service. I love having them in there. I need to start getting ready. Hope you have a great evening!

Gym and Homeschooling

Today we worked on the upper body. Can I just say ow? When I got up this morning my sides were feeling the abs workout from yesterday. I'm sure I'll be feeling today's workout in my triceps and biceps tomorrow.

The trainer gave us a chart to show us exactly what machines to work and what days we're to use them. It lists the machine and you fill in the pounds and reps you do. So next time we work those machines we'll be able to look back and know what we did last time. Also, we'll be able to watch our progress.

We eat lunch shortly after we get home, so today I had thrown some chicken tenders in the crock pot with a bottle of BBQ sauce. We had that with stewed potatoes, cantaloupe, cucumbers, and a dinner roll. For Bruce and me, I sliced a piece of tomato and laid it on top of the roll with a little garlic and parsley sprinkled on top. It was pretty tasty. It gave the bread a really good flavor.

The kids are getting back into the groove of school after being off for a long Christmas break. They should have their next tests by the end of this week and/or middle of next, providing they stay on schedule. I may need to push them a little harder since end of grade testing will be upon us before we know it.

We had a young man in our church over for supper last night. He likes my Taco Pie, so that's what I made for him. Then we watched a movie with him, played a little bit on the Wii, and laughed at his craziness. We had a good time and it was fun to have him here. We'll have to do that again soon.

I think a nap is on the agenda today. Yes. A nap. On the agenda. Sounds about right to me.
:)

WHEW!

We had a good first day on the routine the trainer gave us. Today it was lower body and abs plus thirty minutes of cardio.

I didn't realize this, but he said it's always better to start your routine with a five minute cardio, then do your weights, and end with the cardio. So that's what we did today. I'm glad Bruce was with me today because figuring out these machines and which ones do what is a little confusing. But we figured them out and I did enjoy the workout. I'll admit that there are a couple of machines I wouldn't miss if they decided to do away with them. LOL But, all in all, a good workout and I do like going in with a plan for each day. And the great news from today is, I lost three pounds since last week. YAY!
~~~~~~
We had two great services yesterday. There was a woman saved last Sunday morning. Her parents have been coming to our church for several years. Her daddy had gone to the alter to pray for her and a minute later she had followed him there, knelt down, and just got right under his arm and repented. It was precious. On the other side of the alter was a man doing the same thing. It was so sweet. He had such a humble spirit when he stood up. His sweet wife was saved Wednesday night, and one of the foster children in our church accepted Christ yesterday morning. It's been so good seeing all these new converts and witnessing their baptisms and their growth in Christ. What a blessing! Praying for many more this year!

Brother John O'Malley preached the evening service last night. I love to hear him preach. He always brings out things in his sermons that make me think, "Man, how come I never thought about that before?" We love the O' Family.

Brother O' and Pastor Goodman will be leaving for Burma here soon. Pastor is really excited about this mission trip. He has been to the Philippines several times and has a great heart for the people there and for missions, in general. I'm sure when he gets back from Burma he will leave another piece of his heart there with them. I'm looking forward to seeing his pictures and hearing about his trip and the experiences that God will allow him to have there.

Reese's Cups, Captain America, and Valentine Vases

Bruce has always loved comic book heroes so when I found this shirt at Wal Mart a few weeks ago I bought it for him for his birthday. He was so happy.
He is also a great lover of Reese's cups. So when Justin found this GIANT pack of 1/2 pound Reese's cups he got them for his dad. Again...he was so happy.

When he took the first bite he said, "They finally made it the way I always knew they should." LOL By the way, this picture was taken before we joined the gym, just in case you were wondering.

Speaking of the gym, we met with the personal trainer today to set up a routine for us. I'm excited about getting started on that Monday. I do best when I have a plan and I think this will work out great.
So we're sitting at the table with the trainer and three other gym members when the trainer asks us what our goals are. He makes his way around the table and gets to Bruce who answers, "Well, I've always believed that underneath this exterior is a Captain America. And THAT is my goal."
He's so crazy. I don't know what I'm going to do with him sometimes.
~~~~~~
Now that New Year's is over and we're beginning our flight into 2012, I'm ready for the next holiday. VALENTINE'S DAY! I love that day. I guess because I have the sweetest Valentine, EVER.
After some encouraging prods from a couple of friends I decided to go ahead and put out a few Valentine decorations. I have a heart wreath I'll hang on the door this weekend. I found a cute foam "I LOVE YOU" at a store tonight that I'll go back and get later. I'm going to place it in the middle of the wreath. I think it'll be cute.
And I found this candy heart vase at a thrift store this week. I thought it was so cute. I didn't buy it when I saw it and then decided to go back for it the next day. I'm glad I did because I really like it. :)

Sitting Next To Dad

There's really not a day that goes by where my dad doesn't cross my mind several times throughout the day. There are many things that trigger my thoughts of him, but today was just a funny experience I had with an elderly man and something that would have happened between my dad and me. Remember "Mr. Happy Fingers"?

Today was our third day working out at the gym. I did the 30 minute express with Bruce and then we each moved on to different activities. After working on some of the upper body machines I moved over to the bicycles. The way they have things set up is several bicycles all in a row with tv's up above for all to view, each one on different stations. You plug in your earphones, set your box to the station you want and you can enjoy a little tv or even radio while you work out. While I pedaled my little feet away, I watched all the political mambo-jumbo on FOX News. In my own little world, I was taken off guard by an elderly gentleman that had taken the bicycle next to mine and gently tapped me on the shoulder. Our experience went like this:
~~~~~~
Him: My tv won't work.
Me: You have to keep your machine going or it'll cut off.
Him: Oh. (tries vigorously to get both feet in the foot straps.)
Me: (Stops pedaling to help.)
Him: Thank you.
Me: You're very welcome! (Pedaling....pedaling.... resets tv settings.... feels tap on my shoulder.)
Him: (pedaling) The tv still isn't working.
Me: (noticing his earphones in his hand...) You have to plug your earphones into the box.
Him: OH! (plugs in earphones, still pedaling)
Me: (Pedaling....pedaling.... feels another tap on my shoulder.)
Him: I think there's something wrong with it.
Me: Did you push the power button? It's that one right there.
Him: (Stops pedaling to look...pushes button) No, it's still not coming on.
Me: You have to be pedaling.
Him (Pedals... pushes button...) There it is!
Me: All right!
We pedal and watch Fox News together and all was, once again, well in bicycle world. :)
~~~~~~
As we sat there pedaling and "watching" the news I couldn't help but think of how this situation would have happened with my dad and I got a little tickled. I never did get the elderly man's name, but I plan to next time I see him. Sitting next to him was just like sitting next to dad.

2012, Here We Come!

I was glad to see 2011 go. It was a good year, but it was a long one. There were a lot of "firsts" without my dad in 2011 and, although nothing will ever be the same without him, those "firsts" are brutal.

We had a great Christmas. Our churchwide fellowship was the Wednesday night before Christmas and I think it was the BEST one we've ever had. At least since we've been members at Faith. It was so nice to be in our new gym. We have a lot to be thankful for with our new building. And another blessing that night was when my husband showed up. He had four hours left he could take for the year and they approved them so he could be at the fellowship. I was really happy when I saw him come in.

The 22nd was our 21st anniversary. It was a really good day, too. We were able to spend the whole morning and early afternoon together before he had to leave for work. I collect nativities and so he bought me the wise men I needed for my Willow Tree collection. As a matter of fact, he finished that collection for me this year between our anniversary and Christmas. I love it. It's so pretty.

Christmas Eve, we had my family over. I thought it went ok. One of the games I chose was fun, but I wish I had revised it a little to save time. It was kind of funny. You write down things, not necessarily pertaining to the holiday, and tape them to the player's heads. It could be people in the Bible, celebrities, cartoon characters, inanimate objects...you get the idea. The person has no idea what or who is on their head. Only the other players do. So you can ask the other players yes or no questions until someone figures out who they are and when you figure it out, you win the game. We also played a game where someone had to wear reindeer antlers until someone else heard them say anything pertaining to the word "yes." Then they could take the antlers. Whoever had the antlers at the end of the night won a prize. Brandon, my niece's boyfriend, was the winner of that game. It was nice having Brandon with us this year. I hope he's able to spend many more with us. We missed those that weren't able to make it.

We had three services Christmas Day. Two morning services and one in the evening. We attended the early morning service since we were spending the afternoon at Bruce's mother's house. Attendance was low for that morning service we attended, but I heard they packed 'em in at the second morning service. So I'm glad to know that people still love church, even when it falls on Christmas. Which, in case you're interested, is still the Lord's day, AND not to mention the celebration of His birth. I think time spent in His house is a good thing, don't you? It was sad to see so many churches close their doors. Anyway... we had a very good morning service and we had a fabulous time with Bruce's family, despite the fact that I had come down with some kind of cold virus, lost my voice, and thought I might just die that very day. No, I didn't really think that, but it did begin to feel like it. Needless to say when we finished up at my mother in law's and opened gifts here with our children, I went straight to bed and stayed there until sometime Monday afternoon. I'm still not fully well, but much, much better, thank the Lord!

We spent New Year's Eve here at home. We did absolutely NOTHING all day long and into the night. Bruce and I both dozed off for a little while and woke up for a kiss at midnight, and then hit the sack. It had been a couple of long months and it was just nice to do nothing. But we made up for it with our Sunday school class New Year's day at our afterglow, following the evening service.

And today, Bruce and I joined Planet Fitness. We've never joined a gym before, so it was an experience. I've worked out at the YMCA, and it was ok, but I think I like Planet Fitness much better. They have a lot of rules concerning noise, dress codes, and other issues, but they are rules that benefit your experience there. My ankle is throbbing from cleaning a house before we went and then walking on the treadmill. But I knew that would happen. I may stick to the bicycles tomorrow. Anyway, it was fun to go with Bruce and we both enjoyed the experience. Looking forward to going back with him tomorrow. And in case you're wondering if that was some kind of New Year's resolution, no, it was not. Bruce's doctor told him his triglycerides and cholesterol levels were way too high. So we're going to do everything we can to get those down. He doesn't want to go on medicines if he can get it down by doing what he ought to do in the first place. As for me.... well, I don't go to doctors unless I really, REALLY have to, but I'm guessing my counts would be bad too. LOL So, in order to help him and us both, we decided to make some changes.

And that's all she wrote, folks. Praying you have a wonderful 2012. God was good last year and He'll be good this year too! No doubts about that.

2012

Ankles, Trees, and Parties

It's been very busy the past several days and the next few days are lookin' pretty well the same. Which is good. Y'all know I thrive on busy-ness.
But, as you may or may not recall, I need my ankle replaced. So all the busy-ness is taking its toll on my ankle. I took some ibuprofen and right now I am just sitting here looking at my Christmas tree while waiting for my ankle to stop throbbing before I try to go to bed. I love the peacefulness of of the tree. I love everything about a Christmas tree.

Did I tell you that Bruce made me a bookshelf? I got around to painting it today and it looks BEAUTIFUL! He did such a great job building it and I can't wait to get all my school books and things back on it.

Tomorrow night is our church-wide fellowship. We'll be able to have it in our new gym this year. I helped with the final touches on the decorations last night and I wish I had taken my camera. It looks so great. Mrs. Amy was in charge of decorations and she chose a gingerbread/candy theme.

My ankle is feeling a little better so I guess I'll try to go to sleep now. Hope you're having a good week so far.

Perfect Peanut Butter Fudge

I like making this during the holidays and it always comes out great. Hope yours does too. Be sure to read all the directions in case you're like me and often jump the gun, if you know what I mean.

3 cups of sugar
1 & 1/2 sticks of butter/margarine
5oz, evaporated milk
1tsp vanilla
1 jar marshmallow cream (I use jet puff and never the store brand!)
1 & 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter

Take a small amount of butter/margarine and rub into bottom of 9x13 pan. Set aside.
Bring first three ingredients to a boil on high, STIRRING CONSTANTLY. Once it comes to a rolling boil, gradually bring it down to medium, continuing to stir, for four minutes.
After four minutes, take off stove top, mix in vanilla, marshmallow cream and peanut butter.
When everything is melted together real good, pour in pan and let it sit for 4 hrs at room temperature.
ENJOY!

This and That and Merry Christmas

There are several things going through my mind this morning. I have no idea what to post about, but I'm just going to go with it and see what comes out.

First of all, I want to say a big CONGRATULATIONS to some young adults in our church, Spencer and LeAnna, on their engagement. Spencer popped the question Tuesday night. I saw the video and I cried. It was so sweet. I'm happy for them. We all knew this day was coming and it did. Praying for them as they seek God's will for their lives together.

Remember when Harry bought his iPod? Well, it's not working. Good thing I kept his warranty and a good thing I let our friend, Jack, talk me into buying it. Thanks, Jack!

Hannah is going to Georgia with a friend and her family this weekend. I know she'll have a good time. Praying for safe travels and I can't wait to hear the funny stories I'm sure she'll come back with.

Justin has been busy working and going to the trade lot, or as some people call it, the flea market. He's becoming quite the wheeler and dealer. Harrison went with him last time and they had some good brother bonding time together.

I finally bought some frames for our family pictures. They look great! I can't wait to get them hung. Bruce has done a fabulous job on painting the house. He built a beautiful bookshelf to put our home school books and other things on. I just need to paint it. I love it!

We were able to get our tree up and other decorations out. I've been enjoying watching the lights and just thinking about the goodness of God and how He would send His only begotten Son to die for us. For me! This time of year we celebrate His birth, the little baby in the manger, but we also celebrate the man on the cross. I love Him.

I was suppose to clean a house today, but that was cancelled so I decided to wrap presents I bought last night, bake some Christmas goodies, and get some Christmas cards ready to go out. So it's not a loss of time today. It's been busy around here and I'm glad for the opportunity to get these things done.

If I don't get to post again between now and the 25th, I wish you all a Merry Christmas!!

Growing Up the Bible Way

So a few days ago a I was informed that someone thought we were fuddy-duddy and fanatics and because we home schooled, our children would not know how to function in society. We're a cult, don't you know? Apparently, they've thought this for years. Because of who the person is, I wasn't really surprised by this. However, it did still hurt my heart. I cried a little, vented a little, got mad a little, and then this morning I read this verse:
"My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up." Psalm 5:3 Did crying and venting help me? No. It wasn't until I could pray about it and LOOK UP to the Lord that I was able to reason this out in my heart.

My children have grown up the Bible way. There is no rhyme or reason to raising children and it doesn't have to be hard. If you stick to basic Bible principles and standards, you should be ok. When they grow older and begin making life decisions of their own, you should be able to stand back and know you did your best, the Bible way, and hope they make the right decisions, based on those same teachings. You can never, ever go wrong the Bible way. It is impossible to take the Bible way and fail.

Building a strong and confident Christian doesn't mean you're brainwashing your child. It means you are preparing them for the world and what it has to offer compared to Christ and what He has to offer. And what He has to offer is so much more than the world's offering.

I think the most critical point of any child's life, but more specifically a Christian child's life, is when they go from childhood to young adult. The college and career age. At this point in their lives they are making decisions that we wish we could make for them. But now is the time when we have to start loosening and cutting the apron strings and watch them fly. Will they fall to the ground and wobble around? Yes, they will. But they won't stay there. If they've been saved and raised the Bible way, they will get up and try again and eventually we will see them soar. "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6 This verse is not a promise that they will always live right and do right. But it lets us know that if we teach them the Bible way, it will always be in their hearts and minds. Even when they're not living right, they'll know it and won't be able to stay there long.

When I look at families that are doing their best, the Bible way, it seems that they have troubles in life, but not with their children. Not that the children are perfect, because they're not. Especially, and including, my own. Point being, life has it's ups and downs and they're a lot easier to face without having to deal with spoiled, rotten children, who think only of themselves and cause strife and unrest in the home.

Am I a fuddy-duddy? A Jesus fanatic? Yes, I suppose to the eyes of worldly man I am. Do my children function normal in society? I suppose that depends on how you define "normal." If normal means raising children with lude behavior, disrespectful to those in authority over them, greedy, prideful, brawlers, etc... then no, they do not function normally. But if you define "normal" as the Bible way....if normal is meek and quiet, seeking the hidden treasures God has for them in this life....if normal is hiding Scripture in their hearts, reaching out to others in need, sharing Christ with others....if normal is feeling and knowing compassion to those who need it most, obeying and submitting to those in authority over them...if normal is learning to do things on their own and working hard to set and achieve goals... then yes, they are learning to function normally.

And I pray, as they grow and become men and women in society, that the Bible way isn't just something they grew up in, but something they look at and know is the only way to truly function in this world. I don't believe there is one person that can say the Bible way has brought them misery and strife. It is the world's way that brings those things.

Another Post? Two Days in a Row?

I woke up this morning to the sound of a very obnoxious power sander and a thick cloud of white dust this morning. Bruce was sanding some places he had patched on the wall. A very long wall. He felt the power sander would save him some time. And it did. It also saved his arm a lot of work. However, it will take a long time to get that dust off of everything. But you know what? I don't care. I am so happy with how things are going to look when he is finished that I really just don't care about the dust. That's what Pledge is for, right? Besides, I had to dust anyway.

My kids are out of school for the month of December. I've done this every year since we started home schooling. We don't get snow days, teacher's work days, etc. So if when they've completed "x" amount of work from the beginning of the school year to the first Friday of December, they get the rest of the month off to enjoy the Christmas season. It's fun, with them, baking cookies, watching Christmas movies, listening to Christmas music, going shopping, etc. I love that we are able to do that and make memories this way. It is a blessing.

Since they're out of school, Hannah, Harrison, Justin, and Hannah's friend, Taylor, went to mom's house on Monday and decorated for her. The girls have spent the night with her since Sunday and will go home tonight. I know mom will miss them. Anyway, I went over to have dinner with them last night and the house looked so pretty. Especially her sitting room. It was so cozy and comfy in there. Of course we didn't spend a lot of time in there. We actually stayed around the table playing Phase 10. It was slightly intense for a while. But it was fun. While I worked on mom's computer, the kids sat in another room and played a game where each person said one word, adding to a sentence. The first person to mess up the sentence was out and the game continued with everyone else until there was one person left. The sentences were hilarious. Kind of reminded me of Mad Libs. We also played Chinese Writing. If you've never played that, it is fun and, especially, with a new people. It's a great party game.

Speaking of parties, we'll be having our Sunday School party this Friday. I'm looking forward to it. I need to find an elephant gift to take. With all we're doing around the house, I have some things I'm thinking of taking. We always have a blast with that game. It's so funny. We have a couple of gifts that have shown up for the last several years. Always makes us laugh when it is opened. I'm suppose to take a side dish for bbq. I was thinking slaw and chips and dip. I have no idea what dessert I'm taking yet. It'll be something good, though.

After the party, we have plans to go see the lights in McAdenville with some friends. It'll be a little late, but I'm looking forward to it. Their kids and our kids will be here playing games and watching Christmas movies. So they'll be having their own little party, I guess. Fun, fun!!

So that's today's post. I wonder if I'll think of something to write tomorrow. I guess we'll see.

Really?

I think this is the longest I've ever gone without posting something. I really want to, I'm just in a bloggy pit, I guess.

Lots of things going on here. I've been busy with photo shoots. The Lord has blessed in that area and I'm thankful for the opportunities and the good times I've had this year. I've taken pictures of families, engagement proposals, maternity pictures, and next week I'll be doing a newborn. Which, by the way, I am totally psyched about. I love me some babies.

Thanksgiving was fun. Hannah and I cooked the side dishes, with the exception of the mashed potatoes. My sister in law made those and they were really yummy. As a matter of fact, she made the desserts and they were to die for. I had my fair share and more of those. lol My mother in law cooked the turkey and it was the best, I think, I have ever had. I was most thankful, this year, that Bruce's brother Mitch and his family were able to be with us. He recently retired from the Navy and has moved back to our little town and it is so good to have them home. It just makes the family feel whole again.

This month, Bruce has been painting and doing some odd jobs around the house. We're hoping to have everything finished this week so we can decorate and enjoy our newly painted walls and doors and windows. It's been fun watching it all come together. I suppose after almost twenty years it's time for a facelift for the house. He's doing a great job and his need for perfection has even made room for me to help a little. haha

We have Christmas parties, family reunions and Bruce's birthday this weekend. The Christmas season never slows down and I'm glad. I enjoy the busyness of the fellowship and gatherings of friends and family. We have so much to be thankful for.

A New Blog

I started a new blog. It's called, Just Picture It.

This is where I'll start posting my pictures for klm Photography.

The first post on this blog is in memory of Army Sgt Christopher Newman, killed by a suicide bombing in Afghanistan.

Sgt Newman grew up in Shelby and attended Bethel Baptist Church. I know he will be missed by his friends and family. I am truly thankful for the sacrifice he gave for our country.

My prayers are with his wife and family.

Bus Ministry Fall Festival

We had our fall festival this past weekend. It was a lot of fun watching the children have a great time playing games, eating candy, and getting their candy bags filled.
Many balloons made their way to the ceiling of the gym.


Mrs. Janet did great keeping everything running smoothly, considering all that she had faced this week, preparing for two funerals of people in our church.

~~~~~~~~~~
Our other workers....

~~~~~~~~~~

Some of the goodies included popcorn bags....

~~~~~~~~~~

buckets and buckets of candy....

~~~~~~~~~~

And pizza until their heart was cotent and their bellies were full.

~~~~~~~~~~

Some of the faces from bus ministry...

~~~~~~~~~~

Things to do at fall festival...

We had a good time Saturday. I know the children did too!

Pray for the Wray Family

Yesterday, we said goodbye to one of the sweetest, most humble men I have ever had the privilege of knowing, Brother Arnold Wray.

Brother Johnny said it best at the funeral when he said that we had lost a spiritual giant. I don't know of a more sincere, quiet, and praying man. As a matter of fact, it is said by family and friends that he spent hours a day in prayer. And when he died, he was praying, asking God to help his family, asking God to help his wife, and to bless his church.

Brother Arnold had been on dialysis for a while and had been told for months that he only had a few days left, but God allowed our church to watch him, week after week, come in and take a seat near the back of the church with his oxygen tank, as he could no longer sit on the platform. Which was his seat for nearly sixty years as our choir director. He lived for the next church services. Knowing how weak he was would send me into tears as he would stand up with both hands raised in the air during church services. I remember coming in many times before church and I would see him in the back with his hands together, rocking back and forth in prayer.

The day before his funeral, his wife was brought up to the church to see him. She, herself, in a nursing home. She patted his arm and told him she loved him. That he was a sweet husband and she would see him in Heaven. Little did she, or the family, know that just four hours after his funeral, she would make her crossing and she did see him again.

I wonder as Brother Arnold stepped onto the shores of Glory, if the Lord told him to wait, that Mrs. Louise was coming. I wonder if he stood there, patiently, as was his way, and waited to take her by the hand as they both stepped onto streets of gold together. Breathing in celestial air, taking in the beauty and splendor of Heaven, and looking into the face of the One that they gave their hearts to many years ago. What a precious thought!

We will miss Brother Arnold and Mrs. Lousie. We have more to go to Heaven for, than we had yesterday.

Please remember the Wray family in your prayers.

This Past Weekend Made Me "Shutter"

I had four shoots over the weekend and enjoyed each one. My first one was a mini-mini session with the L Family. They are such a great fun family to be around.

After the mini family shoot, mom L and I took their son "J" for his senior pictures. He is such a crazy guy. We headed down to the Broad River and got some great shots of him there. I wish I could reveal the surprise we found on this shoot, but it will have to wait until another blog post. "J" is awesome. He graduates this year and plans on attending a Christian college next fall.

Saturday morning, I met a couple for their maternity shoot. They were young and sweet and ready to be a mommy and daddy. I'm happy for them. Babies are wonderful!

And there's Bre. I LOVE Bre. She smiles like this all. the. time! I even mentioned it to her mother, who confirmed that she does smile like this all the time. What a sweetheart! Bre is Bruce's cousin. She graduates this year and plans on attending culinary school. I've tasted her work and she's fabulous!

~~~~~~~~~

Blessings Upon Blessings

Today was full of blessings. Brother Eddie Davis is preaching our revival and preached the BEST sermon, There is a River. I cried off and on through that whole sermon. Many people were touched through the preaching of the Word this morning. And if you're in the area, we'll be having service tonight at 6:00 and each night, through Wednesday, at 7:00. Come join us.
There is a family that has been coming to church. I have watched these people and can really see the Lord on their lives. They are a sweet story. The mom just got saved a few weeks ago. And the daughter came forward to get saved this morning, before the preaching got underway. If you knew their story, you'd be crying like I did when I saw that daddy walk behind his daughter to the alter with his Bible in hand. It was just precious!
Having a baptism after services tonight. I really can't wait to see what the Lord is going to do.
~~~~~
My mother was in attendance this Sunday. She's been sick with bronchitis this past week. She was in Virginia with her sisters for several weeks before that, so it was nice having her back in the services today. And I'm glad to have celebrated her sixty-third birthday with her, this past Friday. Bruce and I took her to her choice of restaurants, then back to our house for cake and ice cream. After that, she took Hannah and Harry to her house, where Justin joined them after he got off work. And when I was done doing my Friday errands, I joined them all at her house for a hot dog supper and a movie. We had a great day with her and hope she enjoyed our company as much as we enjoyed hers.
~~~~~
Justin had an agility test at a fire department this past Friday. He did good and they called him back for an interview this coming Tuesday. So proud of him. It's a part time position, but it's definitely a foot in the door and I know if it's the Lord's will, then God will open that door a little wider at just the right time.
~~~~~
Someone very dear to our hearts bought mom a new washer and dryer for her birthday. It was a tremendous blessing to her and she is so excited to know that it will be delivered this week. I'm happy for her. My dryer still dried clothes great, but it was old as the hills and made the LOUDEST noise while drying. So she gave us her dryer. It was like night and day when I dried clothes in it yesterday. LOL Earlier this year, the Lord gave us a practically brand new washing machine. So this year, the Lord gave us a "new to us" washer and dryer set. And that's a blessing to us.
~~~~~
Harrison is doing GREAT with his new curriculum this year. He's up and hitting the books at 6:00am. He'll do three subjects, check his work, make corrections, and then go back to bed for an hour or so. He'll get back up, do his chores, finish his last two subjects, and he's done by or just shortly after 1:00. He's doing great. He's struggling in Math, but only because he needs to master some things. So we've stopped everything until he's done that. No point in going on until he has the knowledge to move on. That's another reason I love homeschooling. You can stop and concentrate on what's important. Bless his heart, he hates math. But I'll be honest, he gets it honestly. It was never, EVER my favorite subject!
~~~~~
Hannah is doing great also. Sometimes I just watch her working away and can't believe that she has one more year of high school left. It can be a little depressing when I think about it, but I am so proud of her and the young lady she has become. She is so independent and I know that she is going to do good, in whatever the Lord leads her in doing.
~~~~~
Bruce's job is still going strong. He's been working six days since January. Since he's been on second, it has been a great blessing for family time in the morning/afternoon hours. We are still praying the Lord will open that first shift position for him and we believe He will in the near future. I have enjoyed having him home at night. He worked third for so long, it's been different having him to curl up to at night. But I have gotten some great sleep and am actually on a normal sleep schedule, which I didn't have for the last few years. I have to say, I like it!!
~~~~~

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in
Christ:

Ephesians 1:3

Too Funny Not To Share

Property Rules of a Toddler:

1. If I like it, it's mine.
2. If it's in my hands, it's mine.
3. If I can take it from you, it's mine.
4. If I had it a little while ago, it's mine.
5. If it's mine, it must never appear to be yours, in any way.
6. If I'm doing or building something, all of the pieces are mine.
7. If it looks like mine, it's mine.
8. If I saw it first, it's mine.
9. If you are playing with something and put it down, it automatically becomes mine.
10. If it's broken, it's yours.

Grace, One More Time

I love this song. The first time I heard it was our first Sunday at Faith. It immediately became a favorite. I hope it's a blessing to you, too.

Homeschool

Gotta love homeschooling. Yesterday, while in the flow of school work, I asked Harrison why Cain killed Abel. His reply was that Cain was jealous of Abel because God would not accept his sacrifice of vegetables. Hannah chimed in with, "And NO one likes vegetables!"

School is going pretty good. Harrison still has the "don't want summer to be over so let's just don't do school" blues. The other day we didn't finish school work until ten minutes after 6:00. Needless to say I was a little put out. But amazingly kept my cool. I did ponder on it a while. It's not that he couldn't do the work. It's not that too many things were going on. He just allowed himself to daydream and chatter the day away. So I had to threaten him with the bike trip we're going on this weekend. I told him that I was not going to have my days upset everyday like that and that he better stay focused. That his school work should be finished, at the very latest, by 2:00. And that if it wasn't finished by 2:00 every day this week, he would not go on the bike trip this Saturday. So he's been up at 6:00 the last couple of days and has three subjects finished by the time we normally start school. And the biggest plus out of this little journey is that yesterday when he completed all of his school work by 11:30 he smiled at me and said, "You know, I like getting my work done this early. I have the rest of the day for 'Harrison stuff!'" So see... a little motivation is always a good thing!

Hannah, on the other hand, gets right to it. She rises when the alarm clock goes off, does her chores, eats her breakfast, and hits the books. Maybe Harry will learn by her example, also.

Speaking of the bike trip, we'll be going with our Sunday School class down the Virginia Creeper Trail. I LOVE that bike ride. It's twenty-two miles down the Creeper Trail and it is absolutely beautiful. There are several bike rentals in the area or you can bring your own. They load you up in a van and take you to the top of the trail and let you out. You take as long as you want coming down through the mountain side. There are shaded tree trails that run by creeks and rivers, through valleys, old homesteads... it is really one of my favorite things to do. I think we've gone every year for the last three or four years and have a blast every time. So we're all looking forward to it.

And that's enough for today. I have a mountain of laundry, some vacuuming (among other household chores), and school work to grade. Have a great day!