Our little girl

We'll our little girl got a big girl haircut and man she now looks her age (19 1/2) . We have so enjoyed having her home and being a family that plays Wii together. Yes, we are addicted.

We all laugh how daddy boxes. We had to make him move back a bit. Thought he was going to hit the TV.

Well, our girl goes back Sunday and it's going to be a tough one. I'm just going to miss her so much and her little fella too. Yep, she met a boy and he is so sweet. He will graduate this May and lives an hour away so it's the perfect relationship. No really he is a treasure and it's been fun getting to know him. So, I will be back working and volunteering and keeping busy. I know time will go quickly but I think it's going to be a tearful goodbye.

Back to carpet cleaning and organizing!!

Out with the old

The tree is down and Christmas is put away. I like to keep a few snowmen up but with a new year I like to put the old stuff up. My hubby's birthday is New Years day and we are busy preparing for that.
So while putting everything up I wanted to have a little Christmas reflection.
*I loved baking with my daughter
*delivering goodies to people
*gathering with friends
*my birthday
*having our daughter home and spending time with her very special guy
*seeing my boys face when they got the Wii game
*Christmas Eve service
*special gifts from friends
*wrapping presents
*my dad getting good health news
*working for Dr Jay
*my house looked very inviting and smelled oh so good
*my new camera
This Christmas was a whirl wind and went by so quickly. I enjoyed it but I am looking forward to the New Year and all that God has in store for us

Merry Christmas !!!

Just wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas !!

Remember no matter how big or how small your celebration may be, you have already received the greatest gift of all. That's right you know it....GOD's Love. It came in the form of a man called Jesus.

Enjoy this day and celebrate his love.

Tina

What a blessed woman

I am such a lucky girl. My birthday isn't until tomorrow but friends and family have already spoiled me with 2 special celebrations.

Friday night some girlfriends gathered for dessert and the watching of Mamma Mia. We had so much fun. One of the best parts about the DVD is the sinbg along bonus. We had so much fun singing along and being silly. I felt 16 again. Awesome friends, thank you.

Yummy family dinner Saturday night. We had yummy pork loin, green beans, loaded mashed potatoes, salad, rolls, and cheesecake. Hubby and family did all the clean up. We laughed so hard and had such a good time. I'll post some pictures later.

I'll be another year older tomorrow and the forties don't bother me, it's the time flying by that bothers me. I don't know about you but this year has flown by. I hope the things I've done have been pleasing to the Lord and that I have honored him in the way I live my life. I look forward to waht he has in store for me this year and thank him for another birthday shared with family and friends.

I am so very blessed.

Praise

Good news faithful friends...they got all the cancer and it has not spread. This is such a miracle for my dad. I want to thank you all so much for praying for him and our family.

Ezra 3:11-13 11
With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the LORD : "He is good; his love to Israel endures forever."

Busy Bakers

My friend Melissa told me about using the little pretzels for dipping and they work great!!

Cinnamon snowflakes with cinnamon icing, oh so yummy.

This is yummy peppermint chocolate drizzled popcorn, easy and so good.

How cute are these sugar cookies?

My daughter and I finished up our baking and she was such a big help. She did such a great job on the sugar cookies. We made truffles, puppy chow, pecan choc chip cookies, graham cracker cookies(those are easy and good,)peanut butter blossoms, peanut butter reeses cup, gooey sugar cookies,yummy white choc drops and rice krispy bon bons. We like to give these to teachers, friends, family and our pastors. Everything tastes pretty good too.

Hope you are all ready for your holidays .

Happy Holy Days!!!

Wintery Days

This picture isn't that great but wanted to share some more wintery decorating. This is in the landing and if I haven't mentioned I love snowmen.

I also got some need ornaments from the ornament exchange I did with the Beth Moore Siestas group. My camera is just not cooperating with me. I wish you could see them, they are so neat. I also got a willow angel and I love those. These came from Jennifer at http://www.emmalkittredge.blogspot.com/ the spirit of truth. If you haven't been to visit her yet take a quick minute and see what she's up to. I love that God connected me with such an amazing woman. I am lucky that way. He fills my life with the coolest women.
Keep warm and take time to enjoy the week before Christmas!!

Spreading the Cheer

Here are a few things I've been working on. It's a must to spread the cheer at my hubby's work so mugs for the girls and warm socks and gloves for all the hard working guys.

I also made some snowmen hats to give to a couple of my friends . They are so cute, a friend gave me the pattern and I just loved it.

Now, this year a couple of my friends and I did a cookie dough exchange and the buckets are my dough. It was so fun to come home with dough to bake at my leisure. We have always done a traditional cookie exchange and I really like the dough idea. Tomorrow is baking day and I love that because my kids help and we listen to Christmas music and just have a great time being at home and being together.

Hope whatever you're working on brings you lots of joy!!

Recipe

So sorry for the delay.

white chocolate peanut butter drops of yummy

2 lbs white chocolate almond bark or candy coating(it's by the chocolate chips)
1 cup peanut butter
3 cups rice krispie cereal
2 cups dry roasted peanuts
2 cups mini marshmallows

Place chocolate in bowl and place in microwave @ 50% power for 4-5 minutes. Once totally melted mix in all ingredients. Drop by tablespoons onto wax paper(I use my pampered chef mini scoop) This makes a lot about 10 dozen if you get the size right.
Yummy and have fun!!

Holiday Cheer

It is the time of year that sometimes doesn't bring out the best in people. I believe this is an opportunity to spread some holiday cheer or what I like to call show some Jesus love!! What have you done this week ? It can be simple. My mom always carries candy canes and passes them out to store cashiers, clerks, gas station attendants just about anyone she runs into. I always try to keep little goodies in my car and by my front door to just give someone a little holiday cheer. This week the boys and I dropped off 2 boxes of books at Children Services. Foster homes are in need of so many things, maybe check with your local agency to see what you can do. I did speak to the Children's Bureau at the conference I went to and they are really trying some different ways to make a little extra money for the kids. They collect old cell phones and ink cartridges. We all have all have those. Isn't that awesome? And please remember all those single moms out there. Just be on the look out for a way to make someones day.

Dad Update

Thank you all for your prayers. My dad's surgery went well today and he is at home resting. It will take about a week to find out if they got it all or if the cancer has spread. We are hopeful. I am so lucky to have great friends that I can call on for prayer and now with the blogging world I have another extension for prayer warriors. I am so grateful.
Last week was crazy but Friday night I was able to connect with the girls for dinner and fellowship. We usually have a cookie exchange but with money tight and time slipping away we chose to just be together. Sometimes we tend to think things have to be grand when really the best part of any gathering is time spend with good friends. I am so lucky to have many amazing women in my life.
Our girl is in her finals week and we are praying her through. She's feeling good about chemistry and that is answered prayer.I know it's important to weed out students that are pre-med but do they have to strip away all their confidence? We had a little talk about capabilities and how God has made her so capable.It made me think of this verse:
Philippians 4:6-8 (New International Version)
6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
This really applies to my dad, my daughter , my life. May you have peace this week!
Tina

Easy Gifts

We put together these mugs before Emme went back to school for her to give to her friends. The candy cane cocoa is at Sams club and it's only about $10 for 24-30 packs. It's cute and yummy. There are so many cute candies out there to fill it up and pretzel rods from Target are cheap and good. They have all different kinds and you get 12 for $3. I love to use cellophane bags for all my packaging. I get them through Nashville wraps. They have great tissue and all kinds of bags. I always wait for ribbon to go on sale and Hobby Lobby and Michaels are great places for cute ribbon.

Not the greatest pictures...hoping Santa brings mommy a new camera!! I've been good.

I also made the white chocolate peanut butter treats and I will share the recipe.

Hope everyone is keeping warm and enjoying the season. It's so hard to believe it will be here in a flash.

Conference Update

I am back from my two day conference Kids Count In Indiana. I attended some great sessions and met some interesting people that love working with youth. Heard two great speakers Walt Mueller and got to meet Ken Carter of the movie Coach Carter. He was powerful. He even asked for a high five from me and I have his picture on my phone. My boys thought I was a rock star. Wanted to share a view interesting points he made.

Punishment lasts an hour, a day, a week...Discipline lasts a lifetime!!



If you are in a funk ... get a funk buster



This thing called life...you have to live it...you can't get out alive



BIBLE stands for Basic instruction before leaving earth..I love that.



He allowed questions which was really cool and one person said who inspired you and without hesitation he said Jesus Christ. Isn't that great? He spoke a lot about his faith and he didn't care who was in the room and who would be offended. Loved it.

Coming home after two days to a sick boy and lots of errands but all in all my hubby and boys did a great job.

Hope you are having a wonderful week!

Tina

In the Mood

A little of this ...get's you in the mood to work on this. Trying to get the house holiday ready.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

What a great day. The weather here was beautiful and the house was full of food, family and friends. Life doesn't get much better than that. Here are some shots of our day. All the dishes were amazing and Levi our little stuffing maker changed up his recipe this year and it was awesome. It was cornbread sausage stuffing and he did a great job. Garrett's corn casserole was yummy. I tried a new dessert Pecan Pie Trifle....WOW. My mom even brought some of her homemade noodles there were none left! It was so good. After dinner the ladies had a little craft project...I was supervisor and go to person. It was funny listening to the non-crafty people claim they had no talent in this area and I think they all did a great job.

Hope you all had a wonderful day too. Now it's on to the Christmas festivities. We are putting up the tree and hanging lights. I better get back to work.

Twilight

Twilight

Hubby went to get our girl and I got to go with the boys and 55 other middle school kids to see Twilight. I was excited to finally see it after reading along with the kids. I loved the book and well, the movie was good but not as good as the book. My boys were never into reading at all but this 500+ page book captivated them. Most girls love it for Edward.But my boys couldn't stop reading it. One night I read for over two hours to them. It was so much fun discussing the book and hearing their take on it. My daughter has always been a reader and they can hardly wait for her to read the book. They think she can get it done in a day.
I must tell you it was great seeing so many teenagers so into a book. They had to pass an AR quiz to attend the movie with the group. They were awesome at the theater and at dinner. How refreshing to see our young behave and be well mannered. The teacher got a lot of backlash by offering this extra credit project. A lot of parents felt as a Christian it wasn't appropriate. I did a lot of research and after reading the book I'm not sure why that is. I love that this book shows two teenagers with a lot of self control. We all have to do what we are lead to do.
So, as I mentioned our girl is home and I must tell you it feels so good having all my kids a sleep in their beds.

I needed this

Pray Please

Well, the ugly C word (cancer) had to rear it's ugly head. Our family has been so fortunate for years not having to face that word and all that goes with it. We had many years that it felt like it was consuming our family. Loss after loss and finally freedom from it. So dear ones I am asking for prayer for my dad who was diagnosed with cancer and will have surgery in the coming weeks. Not sure of his prognosis but we are hopeful and so is his Doctor. I know God has glorious plans in all of this. I'm not always good at sharing my hurts or concerns. I always try to be head cheerleader but this time I need a cheer block of my very own praying for our family and lifting us up.
So, this Thanksgiving like so many others I will be thankful for our health , our loved ones and that we can gather together.
Thank you prayer warriors and you sweet faithful friends.

Banner

I love the word BELIEVE and this banner was created for the upcoming holiday season. I only have 4 and if you would like one. Let me know. $19.95 plus shipping

Fabulous Friday

I love Fridays. It means family time and maybe a visit with a friend. It's very cold here and that means a warm toasty fire tonight. We had game night a couple of weeks ago and we had so much fun. You know we get so busy sometimes and think our kids would like to go somewhere or do something but it reminded me that they love time with us. It's that simple. Sitting down and hanging out in our home is refreshing. If you have teenagers don't think they wouldn't love some family fun time. They may sigh and act like you are torturing them but trust me they love it. I sub a lot in Middle school and you would be amazed at the stuff I hear. Especially when they don't think I'm listening. I actually heard a student say "my parents would never sit and play games". We have parents checking out of their kids lives. I mean literally. So make tonight a fabulous Friday for your family. Yes, you can order pizza!

Have a warm cozy weekend.

Crafty

Well, our girl has a masquerade ball this weekend and of course needed a mask. I kept thinking about the scene in Phantom of the Opera where they sing masquerade and found my motivation. I have never done anything like this but I think it turned out pretty well. There are some flaws and I would have done things a little different but all and all I am pleased. Hope the girl is.

Neat Opportunity

This past Friday I had the opportunity to have lunch with Congressman Mike Pence's wife and it was great to meet her. She spoke on the importance of using the opportunities we are given right now to be a doer. She said her husband could be out of office at any time and the doors that open now won't open when he is out. She is working with Riley Hospital in Indy to get Art Therapy available to all the sick children that stay there. She even had us do a quick exercise. We had to draw a self portrait but with sunglasses on. In those sunglasses we had to draw in the reflection something that we love or a place that makes us happy. It was fun to see every ones reflections. One older gal put a man with a horse. It was one of her favorite memories of her father. It was just neat to see how a simple drawing can say a thousand things. So I went away asking myself, am I taking advantage of opportunities I'm being given right now? Am I a doer?

As we enter into this season of giving I hope we can reflect on what Gods plans are and who he would like us to help.

If you have not read this book Christmas Jars check it out. It is such a simple way to be a family of doers.

Longevity

Had a very interesting evening last night. Went to hear a gerontologist speak. Wow, have you ever heard of that one? It was so interesting to hear this woman talk about how we are not preparing for our longevity. The life expectancy is now 90, that's thirty more years. She talked a lot about how people live short and die long. Process that and really think about those words. A lot of the reasons people are living longer are lifestyle. No smoking, seldom drinking, good nutrition, staying connected and engaging. Our spiritual conncetions are essential as well. When we get older we tend to disengage. People that are staying active and volunteering and moving are staying healthier. People that are stuck in nursing homes truly didn't think they would live as long as they have.
She showed a picture of Tina Turner and man she's 69 now. Not that we can all look like her but here is a woman that turned her life around and takes really good care of herself.
It really made me think of my longevity and what I'm doing to prepare . My weight loss journey has been slow lately and I can't give up on that. I love to move and we love to have adventures and I'm so glad my hubby and I aren't waiting till we retire to do that. I really think that's why I am as healthy as I am. We explore, connect and want a life of significance.
When I speak at churches I often remind women that no matter our age God still has plans for us. I sometimes forget that. He will use us and push us and teach us no matter the age we are.

No matter how long I'm here for this life my goal is to hear this when I enter into heaven "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' Matthew 25:21

So have a great weekend and add some fun to whatever you're doing it keeps us young!!

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving

Here's an easy recipe my mom gave me years ago and I always like to make it for the holidays. It makes a wonderful gift and I give it to all our Thanksgiving guests. Bonus is it tastes yummy!!

Made the name cards for Thanksgiving. They were very easy and work great.

Only 2 weeks till Turkey Day.

Recipe:

1 Large can applesauce

2 1/2 cups packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white vinegar or apple cider vinegar

1/4 t cloves

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Bake for 2 1/2 hours @ 350. Your house smells so good. Fill clean jelly jars and place . Turn the jars on their tops and they will seal quicker. Enjoy!

Special Needs

Well, I have been subbing in the special needs class this week and can I just say WOW. These kids are great and I do enjoy them but they can be exhausting. The teachers in this class are truly amazing and such a gift to these kids. It made me want to ask you all to pray for the families of these children, the teachers that teach them and please let these kids find a way into your prayers tonight.
I get upset when my boys forget to do their homework. Can you imagine the mom that would love it if her child could have homework? I mean it's a big deal for some of these kids to speak and make it through the day. It makes me want to push my kids a little bit more because they are so capable. I don't know what all the answers are but I am so hopeful for these kids as well as my own.
Hope your week is going great!

Truly Amazing

What an amazing afternoon. I can't even begin to tell you how good it felt watching my children work so hard and we had a good time doing it. I'm going to be honest my hubby was not thrilled to be there but man did God use him. He ended up at the sealing station and was laughing and having a great time. I had a friend come with all her teenage children and they worked so hard. There were young children that did their part, older folks that put in time. To see all the activity and to hear when we hit the 200,000 mark...the cheers went out. They had Christian music playing the whole time and we had prayed before each session started. God was in that place. We learned that it was more then a bag of rice. They had a scoop of soy and veggies, chicken seasoning and all in all it comes away with having 52 grams of protein. I thought that was great. I just hope we hit the mark for our shipping.

I am so glad we had an opportunity to serve in this way. We truly have so much to be thankful for and I think our boys realize that more than ever after today.

Born Learning

I have been blessed with an amazing job. (it's one of 4) I am a Born Learning Coordinator and we are working on some awesome projects. Children are born learning so we put tools in parents hands to help with that. One of the latest projects is called a Born Learning Trail. I wanted to share this because any community could do this. We are also starting literacy book parties where the hostess would get a basket full of books for her home. Totally free. I love books and know how important it is to get them in our children's hands. We are not given a handbook when we become parents and some of us are better at it then others. That's why these types of programs are so helpful.

I am also researching playgroups. If you are in a playgroup I would love to hear your thoughts.

Here's a view of the trail. Each post has an activity to do with your child while you walk the trail.

Helping the Hungry in Haiti

Please pray . Our church like so many churches believes it's so important to bring the mission field right to the churches door. So, this Saturday November 8th we will be making 285,000 meals for the people of Haiti. This is a huge undertaking and takes many people (800). We are a little shy of our goal and need more people. Please pray that there are more than enough volunteers come Saturday and that all the shipping expenses are met ($33,000)
If you would like to donate to the shipping or want to check out what we're doing please visit
http://www.parkchapel.org/
What's great about this is that they encourage kids to come help. We are going as a family and at first it didn't receive much enthusiasm but now the boys and hubby know they can truly make a difference and there is nothing better than working for Jesus. I will try and take pictures so you can see God at work. I am so excited!!

Word of the Week

GRACE !!! Have you ever been called on to give someone a big old helping of Grace? Did they disappoint , let you down, give up on something you really needed them to do? Did you answer with grace? I know this can be tough but ladies God shows us his love and mercy everyday. Did you know grace is a virtue? and the influence or spirit of God operating in humans to regenerate or strengthen them. Boy could we all use a big dollop of that.

So this week choose Grace.

Parent Day

It was a beautiful November day in Southern Indiana. This is one of our favorite spots at Hanover. You can see the colors are changing and the Ohio River was calm and steady. We got to see our girl and she loved her dresses. We went to lunch with her and her very best friend and BFF's parents. It was nice getting to know this family. Emilee and Kyra spend a lot of time together. We also checked out the sorority she is going to rush and we were pleasantly surprised. It is a beautiful house and the girls have very high GPA's. We'll see how things go. We got to attend a home football game and did I mention it was 72 degrees? It was a lovely day. Hubby and I enjoyed the drive and spend quality time together. Just like the old days. It's so nice that after 25 years of marriage we are still best friends. We talked about everything.

We came home to a wonderful fall party at a friends. Bonfire, hotdogs and hayride included. What a wonderful weekend. Hope yours was a treat!!

Trick or Treat

This was our only trick or treater...

Remember the Word?

Remember the word of the week? ENDURE? Well, the devil loves to challenge us when we decide to make an effort to be better. I have been hit at every turn this week and by golly it's Friday tomorrow and I will Endure and I will out last!!!
Please pray for my children that disappointment will not be lasting and that bumps in the road are just that...bumps. God never sets us up to fail and his plans are so much better than our own.

Had a great errand running time with just Levi. He and I can be down right silly when we want to. I really enjoyed our time together. He even helped me pick out a dress for sissy. She has another Semi-formal affair at school. No worries...Von Maur to the rescue. I found her a beautiful black dress and it's so classic looking. She will love it. I actually bought her 2 dresses because I got one for $23 instead of $90. I love when that happens.

Today was a beautiful day despite the bit of turbulence I felt throughout the day. So tomorrow night I will say goodbye to October and Welcome November with open arms and mind.

Talk to Me Tuesday

http://tipjunkie.blogspot.com/2008/05/im-tip-junkie.html Things to give at Christmas. I love the little rice bags for everyone but my daughter loves giving these to friends with a sleeping mask. The quilt toppers are just fun and everyone loves them.

Working Hands Stinky Pictures

I worked hard today getting stuff ready to take to booth 43. I love these word frames and I wish the picture was better they really are neat. The bags have tags and 6 bags each in them, great for goodies. This will be my last month for my booth and I hope to have a shop site available soon.