The Needle in a Haystack

What a Memorial

  so, along with working at the shoppe for the weekend I had several things I wanted to do for some soldiers and then dinner with the inlaws on Monday.... none of that happened..

Friday morning I woke up tired and not feeling 100%.. Christopher and Chris both said the same thing ( thankfully Cadence was home and she seems fine)..

  By Saturday Chris was "OK" sort of .. Christopher was feeling yucky, and I was spiking a fever of 102 with headaches, back aches and tummy aches...

  Chris recouped fastest .. of course when I asked how he got rid of the really bad headache he confessed to 10 ibprophen before he went to bed which I do NOT encourage anyone to do..

 Christopher and I hung on the longest...but I am happy to report today we have no fevers, chills, aches or pains.... a bit tired....

  So the post of the awesomeness of spinach/ strawberry salads and grilled sliders will just have to wait for another time..

  I will tell you if you have a tummy ache then raspberry leaf tea and a spot of honey does just the trick... and the warm liquid is comfort when you have the chills... might want to keep a stock in your medicine cabinet...

  give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1Thess 5:18

..Be safe if you and Beryl are dancing... and have a fine day...all day long

 

A Week with a Three Year Old

 Jeremy and Carey had a conference in savannah and we were more hten happy to watch Cadence for the week . We were sad to see her go yesterday ( but a bit on the tired side)..

We played dress up

 ..and visited pug puppies

... and who doesn't like a bowl of soapy water to play in while MeME  is cooking dinner

..or scoops of rice and measuring cups

 

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Psalm 127:3

 

Have a fine day, all day long

I'm such a slacker....

... bt really I haven't done anything over the top exciting except  spring clean and work in the garden... we had a bit of a day in mourning when the deer decided to exfoliate our poor baby apple trees and grape vines... off to the farm supply store yet again ( oh these folks know us so well by now) for some wire and the trees are now nicely secure away from deer mouths.  They decided NOT to eat any of the fig leaves... and I must say growing figs, I am not sure how Adam and Eve covered htem selves wiht fig leaves... perhaps more like a burdock leaf.... but any how... I thought I would share some Mom's day pictures with you... Josh decided to cook for Mom in law and I and he also introdced us to

Edamame ... I am not sure if it was just absolutely delicious all warm and salted... or if we were just very hngry, but both the mom in law and I were slurping these things out of the pods like we hadn't eaten in days ...

  Anyhow.. Josh prepared chicken and rice ala Josh.. which we didn't eat a whole lot of case we had slurped down edamame...

some folks just hate to have their picture taken

..and I got puppy kisses

  and hubby got to spend the evening with his mama

...and my FIL got to hang around with all of us......he looks thrilled..

... and he was... I really think Josh enjoys his time with his dad and grandpa more then his Grammy Sue and I ...

  But it was so nice of him to cook for us... and we really did enjoy ourselves.

If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.  1Timothy 5:8

 

....now everyone...have a fine day...all day long.....

 

 

Of Rain Barrels and Such

.. This time of the year is hectic... no question about it the slow paced days of winter when you throw some soup on simmer and snuggle under a blanket to crochet or something are gone....

  I am thinking that is why we have winter... to rest up for spring when  the flutter begins again. spring cleaning, gardening, new chicks..

   Of course there are family dinner nights... and 7 year olds who need introduced to perler beads

..and getting excited about Christopher's biology project for an Earth Day expo at college

..its a rain barrel.. and I am excited to put it over by the chicken coop so I don't have to lug water so much....

  Chris and I were working out in the garden the other day and realized it was way past lunch time and we were hungry and tired... neither of us felt like cooking much so I grabbed a couple boxes of cornbread mix ( true confessions... I am deeply in love with Jiffy Cornbread Mix... so anyhooo.. we had some Hebrew National dogs in the fridge and I cut them up and mixed them in the cornbread batter... instant corndogs... dipped in some Zatarans Creole Mustard and we were happy campers!

   Chris was a bit alarmed that this one had ears...

   This is the season of weddings, babies and graduations so my hooks and embroidery machine needs to get flying....

   "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28

.. Enjoy the season... and have a fine day..all day long!

Date Night.... Iron Lady

With Chris traveling for 18 hours on Tuesday we knew we would be celebrating our Sabbath on Wednesday. One of the things we like to do is pick a movie to watch together.  This week it was Iron Lady with Meryl Streep .  It had been recommended to us by Dave and Sandi when they came to visit and since we both love biographical things we were anxious to watch it.

  Let me say that Meryl Streep was phenomenal.  Her acting was brilliant!

If the story had been written about a woman suffering dementia and the progression and struggles... it would have been interesting, but maybe not date night interesting... the fact it was to be a  series of falshbacks from Margaret Thatchers life and her dementia I felt was a bit degrading to her. It made me feel uncomfortable veiwing such a personal look at some one so powerful and strong.  I thought how we would feel as Americans if a film had done that to Reagan?  

   We tried these for our movie snack... soooo good.. and fun to do!

 

 

 

 

 

 

An Easter Sabbath

.. Sorry, no grand pictures of us eating chocolate eggs  and wearing fancy clothes. With me being sick for the last 3 weeks Chris declared Easter a true Sabbath.  The night before we prepared food for the following day and after animal care, we rested, and reflected, and had wonderful talks about many things..

   While I had grand plans to go visit Jeremy, Carey and Cadence in the Charlotte area, I am very greatful that we stayed home. It seems to be just what we both needed and I am happy to report I am almost back to my old self again this week.

    We have tied up loose ends, done a bit of spring cleaning and set a game plan for the rest of the month...

  nothing really exciting going on so I thought I would grace you with a few fur baby pictures..

   Holmes, in the tree by our back door, and if anyone knows what sort of tree that is.. let me know...we have no clue..but it shades the back door wonderfully and the cats use it to climb on the roof...

 Cubbs waiting for her turn in the tree

Facey..

 not the best picture of Chuck...

... anyhow, I was listening to the radio today and someone spoke about how Ethiopia use to word their calender....  " By the Year of God's Grace".  I thought this was so interesting.  So this would be By the year of God's Grace 2012.

  I thought I would share our Bible Memory verse for this week. a real hat tip to my friends who memorized the whole bookof James for Lent.

 Because our minds aren't the book of James good..

  Blessed are those whose trust is in the Lord, whose confidence is in him... Jeremiah 17:7

  Go with confidence, and have a fine day... all day long!

April 6,2012

 Hopefully, hopefully I am on the mend after another set back to this total body virus thing.  I went to work today  after spending yesterday back on the couch.... couch sitting in the spring gets old.......... quickly....  but I have hopes of getting back in the yard  starting on Monday  and getting  plants into the ground and stakes put up for peas and grapes...

  I did get out on Wed . to gather with  relatives from New York. They spend half the year traveling in an RV and working on Habitat Houses.  I am very proud to know them. Its a great thing.  We also got to spend a bit of cuddle and play time with our neice and nephew.

... I am almost sure we have more fun then they do!

Sweet Little Violet and Uncle Chris

and while I was snapping pictures of Violet, I peeked in the diningroom and saw a cute little something making faces at me

 I did what any self respecting Auntie would do... and made faces back.... no pictures of that to follow..BUT, I did get a picture of Evan and one of his favorite people " Uncle Tris".... he decided he wanted to look just like him so he grabbed Grammy Sue's glasses and this was the result..

 ... Be still my heart....

Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last. Luke 23:46

 

March 21st, 2012

We decided we needed to celebrate the return of Spring in a big way!  So Chris, Christopher, Daniel, Taylor , Kristy and I decided a weenie roast was in order. 

  The weather was perfect hovering in the 70s with sunshine ( after just the right amount of rainy starts to water the plants)...

  Taylor's job was to find everyone just the right roasting stick for the hotdogs...

  After filling up on hotdogs, slaw, and chips, Taylor raided MeME's craft basket for some feathers and rubberbands to turn his roasting stick into a spear.  Pop just happened to have some targets around for him to practice on!

 We are firm believers in making young men to be warriors, protectors of women, self sufficient and independant..... never too young to start.

  Taylor had a blast....and after getting tired of climbing trees and throwing spears, Uncle Christopher made ice cream cones!  A wonderful way to usher in Spring!

All your sons will be taught by the LORD, and great will be your children's peace. Isaiah 54:13

Have a fine day... all day long!

 

March 6, 2012 Giving to Others...

Our neighbor had a mass in her kidney resulting in the removal of the kidney last week. She was doing so well she came home from the hospital today and Chris and I really wanted to bless her family with a meal.

 A few years back we really made hte decision to try and let folks know we were thinking of them with small tokens such as a meal during illness, perhaps some cookies for an accomplishment ( like when one of our " adopted children got a new job", new babies, funerals..... muffins for a mother of littles who is plum wore out...

   and it also seemed we were buying lots of tin foil pans and plastic plates to make these deliveries in...

   Lightbulb moment... thrift stores..

  for a buck or less you can buy casseroles, plates, bowls, small pieces of glassware... how much nicer is it to have cookies on a pretty plate instead of paper, or having to wonder who the casserole or dish goes back to.  By purchasing  odds and end casseroles and plates you can simply tell the recipient to 'play it forward".. using the odd piece the next time THEY give a meal.

Tonight was a Chicken Casserole... easy to make and easy to freeze

Chicken Casserole

2 large chicken breast cooked and shredded

1 small bag of frozen broccoli thawed and drained

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 milk

1/2 cup shredded cheese

1 box of Stove Top stuffing ( prepared according to directions)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

place chicken and broccoli in a casserole dish

combine soup, milk and cheese and pour over chicken and broccoli

top with prepared stuffing and bake for 30 minutes..

For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.  James 5:26

...and have a fine day... all day long

 

Happy Birthday Josh

 Busting in 2 1/2 weeks past his due date at a big 10lbs. 1 oz.  My 3rd son hasn't stopped since...

Happy Birthday to the best L.E.O. on the planet.  Love you Sweetie!