The Needle in a Haystack

July 4th

..I only took one picture of this fabulous event!?  I guess I was having too much food and fun.  We ended up with a bit larger crowd then anticipated which is always a treat.  I got an email from someone asking what our menu would be.  Sorry I didn't respond earlier, but perhaps you can use this menu for next year.  Mom By Marriage ( she'll laugh when she reads that) and I just sort of made what we thought best and that ended up working very well.

So... on the grill were Italian sausages , cheddar wurst and hotdogs... we cooked sooooo many but only had 5 left which Chris and I devoured finished up for lunch today.

MIL brought a wonderful dried beef dip.  as soon as I get the recipe I'll post it. with crackers it is delicious! she also brought fresh cucumbers , deviled eggs ( we enjoy hers the best...not sure she has a recipe though)  Calico beans, fresh green beans and peanut butter pie ( did I forget anything)

I made pasta salad, veggie tray, chips and dip and apple dumplings.

Emily made Cherries Jubilee crockpot style. 

  Jeremy made a bottle rocket launcher and we already had the launch tube from a couple of years ago... the guys actually reached a saturation point with shooting off the fireworks! We have a bag left over for New Years.  After the fun was over they all gathered up their wrappers and sticks and stowed them away in trash bags.  Only one semi serious burn and a couple of light burns but a whole lot of guy fun.

 

Jimmy  stopped by and was able to visit with Josh a bit ..and our dear Alan, one of  Jamie's friends that we consider our own stopped by with his mom and gf. I have great memories of Alan as a teen, wanting to go to college with his dad in the Marines and his mother in the midst of a kidney transplant.  We were the ones to drive him to school  and get him settled as if he were our own. How wonderful it is to get a nice visit from one we have prayed for and know they are doing well.

 Including firework watchers , family and friends we had about 26 folks. ( and two extra dogs)... a blessing... a total blessing.

  ..and one of the most patriotic moments? My soldier son giving his dad a big Amen as we prayed for this great nation... while with fault.. we are still the greatest nation... and we still have great men willing to step up to the plate and protect it!

  I'll close with a link to Chris's blog and his thoughts on our Declaration...and with the only picture I took...3 of the 4 most wonderful boys  on the planet!  ( notice the new deck.. crafted and completed by my dearest hubby)

You know you live in a rural area when.......

.. You pull into the grocery store and see this:

Bogarts

.. We  had such a lovely time at Bogarts  last night!  7 couples gathered in the party room for an evening of music, devotions, food and fellowship.  Matthew did a wonderful job providing music for us all and the food was delicious... We all shared appetizers ... wasabi green beans...OK...  homemade potato chips with awesome homemade warm dip.....calamari with Thai sauce... uh... not so much... anything deep fried with tentacles intact... NOPE!  Matt and Fred had the whole plate to themselves.  While I kept safe with herb roasted chicken,  Chris got bold with the shrimp and grits... how totally southern... he said it was really good... Growing up in the Midwest, I've never acquired the taste for grits... corn meal..any day... grits ..not so much..

  Matt's devotion for the evening was so very good... Ephesians chapter 5 starting at verse 22... all about husbands and wives... He put on his coaching hat and encouraged each of us to feel blessed in the roles God had appt. to us... encouraging each of us to begin our ministry in our own home and families... because only with the right relationship with the Lord, and then within our families, can we minister to others.. Dads were reminded to be the teachers of the Word to their children, not giving the jobs to a youth pastor once a week.   Wives to submit to your husbands and Husbands to love your wives as Christ loved the church. ... and when these things are full filled ...harmony exists.

 Each wife was presented with a white rose from their husbands.  How blessed I am to have a husband who loves me so much !

  We were late getting home... and it was up at 5:00 to do our basketball run... but I wouldn't have traded our evening for anything...

 Enjoy the pictures... and have a fine day...all day long..

 

 

Bedtime Routines

...Do you know one of the things I miss the most about having little ones int he house?  Bedtime!...No, not the " Boy I can't wait til the kids are in bed time"..but the time spent snuggling with my boys... a sippy cup of milk and a favorite blanket..bedtime story books and little songs sung while we rocked.

 ..so many times their favorite stories were the ones I just told... with out a book without pictures... ones they could help me tell..

  I got that from my Dad.  He was the king of bedtime.. Tucked in my bed he would sit and tell me stories... not from books...but re- tellings of stories... in his voice... with his characters.  My favorite were Just SO Stories by Rudyard Kipling  he always would follow up with how God actually made the animals and leopard spots and tortoise shells... it was the absolute best time..

  But the highlight was my song... the one that sung me to sleep every night...

it was  great being a Daddy's Girl!

 
  Tonight is dinner at Bogarts with friends.. I love Bogarts and I love these friends... we were so happy to get the invite out of the blue!  As a treat their son will be providing the accompaniment.  Matthew is an excellent pianist.

  Gearing up for our big 4th of July bash... family , friends, foods, fireworks...

Off to pretty myself up for my love... pray for the troops... hug your dads and have a fine day all day long!

P.S.  Enjoy the song!

And you're Daddy's Little Girl
You're the end of the rainbow
My Pot of Gold
You're Daddy's Little Girl to have and hold
A precious gem is what you are
You're Mommy's Bright and shining star.

You're the spirit of Christmas
My star on the tree
You're the Easter Bunny to Mommy and me.

You're sugar
You're spice
You're everything nice
and you're Daddy's Little Girl.

You're the end of the rainbow
My Pot of Gold
You're Daddy's Little Girl to have and hold
A precious gem is what you are
You're Mommy's Bright and shining star.

You're the spirit of Christmas
My star on the tree
You're the Easter Bunny to Mommy and me
You're sugar
You're spice
You're everything nice
and you're Daddy's Little Girl.

Fireworks

.. Josh and Chris made the trip to South of the Border for fireworks .  The had a great time together.  I had breakfast with  a young woman this morning who means alot to us.  She will be moving to SC next week... It has been wonderful to see her mature and grow and turn into the young woman she is.

 Yesterday was my Gram's birthday...  she's a bit upset this summer because at 89, she won't be able to travel as she has due to s couple health issues.  Traveling is just what my Grandmother does... travel and politics... her dream time is always a political conference she has to travel to!  She has been on all continents except Antarctica .and all the remaining  6 more then once. she has been to all 50 states and several islands... and cruised through the Panama Canal twice.  She's going to rest a bit and meet up with all of us in Sept  @ Myrtle Beach.    Happy Birthday Grams!!

  My hooks have been flying the last few days... a few surprises  and a set of   dishcloths using  this   pattern for a friend of mine who asked for some...  I LOVE crocheting dish cloths and am only happy to oblige.

Big news on the Jamie front.. he signed up for his fall classes at NCSU  that means in Dec... if all goes well.. we will have another college grad in the family!  WooHOO!!

I'll leave you with a pic of my Grams... this was taken last year at Myrtle Beach... she doesn't look 89 does she???

 

Blog Silence

..as a Blue Star Mom we realize that every child in uniform becomes "our" child... This young man was with the 3rd Calvary Regiment out of Ft Hood...another IED

  So with the same respect given to my children in the 1132nd... I'll observe a 24 hour blog silence for this young man from NC... remember his family in your prayers..

Spc. Joel A. Taylor, 20, of Pinetown, N.C.

Painted Ponies, 2nd Peter, & Lunch with Monk

..Prepare to be jealous.. Every morning Mon-Thurs. I get up at 5:00 to get Christopher to basketball training an hour plus from our home. I don't have to drive everyday since we split the driving with the Hendersons.  Despite the fact I have to get up at " nobodyshouldbeawakeatthistime o'clock, I really don't mind spending the 2 hours waiting for the guys to condition.   The basketball conditioning is @ Cary Academy which has a lovely campus ...more beautiful then some college campuses.  I love this school.  I imagine that the graduation rate to college is very very high ... I love the pursuit  of  learning and exploring.  I often tease my hubby and tell him I only married him for his IQ... he's a smart one that man!

  Anyhow, before the temps start climbing into the 80's and 90's here in NC.. I spend the first hour walking the campus enjoying the morning... I thought I would share some of the things I see on my walk....painted horses!!  I love these things.. I am seriously trying to convince Chris we need one for the yard in Americana colors... can you see it???  so far its a no -go  but I'll keep trying.  The skeleton horse is sort of creepy... but I still like it... Its great fun walking past these horses..

  after the walk I break out the thermos and pour myself a cup of tea and take my Bible by the fountain to spend a bit of quiet time with  The One I Love Best.  Today I was in 2nd Peter..

        

   the Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentence  2nd Peter 3:9

  Notice Mr Owl staring at me... he's not real...but oh so fun to look at .  He makes me laugh every time I see him.

   Played a game of tag with my friend Patti ..not on purpose...we were driving around Butner trying to find each other with our cell phones... It was hysterical!!

 Dropped of a tired Christopher and headed out for lunch with Combat Monk....oh... Josh and Mom by marriage were there too.  We had such a good time...so good to spend time with our boy.. to hear him laugh ...and stroke his arm a bit when he choked up....

  He really will be Ok... he's strong... far above Army strong...

Continue to pray for the troops....and our Wounded Warriors...and have a fine day...all day long

.

Payton's new shoes

.. Ahh.. today was my day off from driving to Cary thanks to the Hendersons.  Tomorrow I am up to the plate again with a drive by to Camp Butner

  I promised 100 dinner rolls for the rifle competition that the Blue Star Moms are helping with.  It was an easy request and I was more then glad to help.

I was able to spend the morning with Josh helping him work through his disability/veteran/tricare stuff... Oh the military is so.... military like!!  Hopefully next week he will be at Bragg getting his much needed MRI & CAT scans

  I spent the afternoon making ballet slippers for Miss Payton, an adopted grand daughter of mine.  Johnson was one of Josh's good friends over in Iraq.. When Johnson came home not only did he see  his lovely Jen, but he met for the first time  his month old daughter Payton.  I love this picture of the three of them  .. it shows how Johnson would just stare at Payton... madly in love... she is a  Daddy's girl already!  ...and  Uncle Josh spoils her rotten... he's  made it a goal to do that...

  I htought I should join in the spoiling since I stole as many moments to hold the babe as I could.. I used a crochet pattern from the book Precious Baby Booties  there are so many cute patterns.. The pattern takes less then 30 minutes per shoe... but for some reason I had to make 5 shoes to get two that looked the same... In the picture one does look bigger but its not... just the camera angle.  I'm thinking Miss Payton might need a red pair of felted Mary Janes a girl just can't have too many shoes you know!!

Enjoy the pictures of Love..and have a fine day... all day long

Promised Pictures

... Not much to blog about.. it was one of those days where I just did routine stuff... while it feels good to have washed down the showers with vinegar and take a load of old VHS tapes to the swap shop, it really doesn't make for exciting blog reading... dinner was from boxes and cans... crafting was finishing up odds and ends...you know the drill...

  One thing I haven't shared is our family summer read... we chose All Quiet On the Western Front  by Erich Maria Remarque.  I highly recommend this book.  We have a set amount to read each week and then have a family discussion on the book each Sunday evening.  Since we all have our own reading too we don't rush it... not a marathon..but something to be absorbed.. We haven't decided if we will watch the movie when we finish the book or not.. sometimes the movie can be so disappointing after the book..if any of you have read the book and watched the movie we are open to opinions...

   Now, yesterday I promised pictures of our Sat.  any day with my 4 boys and an extra bonus of John and Tammy ( Lance's parents) are always a good thing.  Tammy is the sweetest thing and John is HYSTERICAL.. I am so glad to be able to call them family...  They were leaving us to go to a Toby Keith concert with tickets Lance had bought for Tammy before he died... how very special for them...
...It was raining... Josh was more then happy to play in the rain... Jeremy is much quieter and decided to chip golf balls in the rain instead of using the front yard as a slip and slide...

..Pray for the troops... those on foreign soil... and those getting use to life on US soil... that isn't always easy ...Have a fine day...all day long...

Elders, Grilled Cheese and Cross stitch

..No end of  busyness happening around here!   Tomorrow I promise a post of our Sat with lots and lots of pictures... We had a wonderful visit with lots of folks we love but I need to upload to my laptop and that hasn't been done yet..

  Today was a wonderful Sabbath... I enjoy days of examination and thought.. discussions of Christ centered things.. gives strength for anything the week might throw at you.

   awhile back we had the privilege of visiting  Hope Baptist Church   in Wake Forest.  Both Chris and I appreciated the service and fellowship we have been waiting for an opportunity to fellowship again so we pulled up the website and found what I htink is an excellent quiz for Elder requirements.. you can find it
here Today's churches seem to elect Elders by popularity instead of knowledge and qualifications.  What biblical comfort comes from having knowledgeable leadership! 

  A quick trip to the grocery store today where I literally almost plowed over Mr & Mrs Nathan Black Poor Jesse is nursing a bad foot ..nothing that won't heal in good time.  I love that couple ! Their self sufficient goals mirror so much of ours.  Scroll down to April 6  on Dr Black's blog to see their wedding.

  At home I decided to spruce up the grilled cheese with this recipe form Pioneer Woman  Oh these were so good with fresh sliced cucumbers on the side... PERFECT ( although Chris did say some meat product would have been great on there)

  Working away at so many things... I just had to share how cute I thought this cross stitch   was .  I haven't done cross stitch in awhile  but with the new cool glasses it was much easier.  Not doing the whole thing.. just a couple...

  and the picture of the day is what I saw out the back door ... they must be friends with the dogs cause they walked right past Rox & Raven and the dogs all but invited them over for coffee...so far there is enough green here and the meadow that they haven't smelled the peppers, tomatoes etc from the garden....

  ~sheesh~~

  Continue to pray for the troops..even though my child's boots are on American soil, some mama's child isn't...
    and have a fine day... all day long..